NoShitThereIWas

That's pretty funny At least I thought so Poor Speedy Hope it gets better. Kai has the right idea, cut back the work hours and skydive MORE!!!

Kai, I just saw ya this weekend and didn't realize you were in such a rut! We should have gone and made a jump or something! Is there anyway you can cut back on some work hours? 65 hours is alot. All work and no play, well you know. As far as matters with the SO always on your back. Yeah, that kinda sucks and I am not the best person to go to for marital advice. In my earlier years I would have said, stick around try harder to make it work, yada yada yada, I think now I would just say life is too short cutaway. Since I know nothing about your situation, I will just keep my mouth shut. But getting your "A" should not be a stress factor! That IS something I can help you with. Heck, Todd just did his checkout dive and we had a great time! I got him all signed off and he is ready to go. If there is anything I can help you out with related to skydiving just ask! Also, a group of us are going fishing, floating and skydiving next weekend. Maybe you should get away for the weekend and join us. I can guarantee it will be fun. Breakaway from what is bothering you for a while and try and find some fun and peace. PM me anytime! Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

:13:0 A fine weekend indeed. We begin with a 19 way attempt to build USA in the sky for a fellow jumper who is over in Iraq (for Memorial Day), not the most successful jump cause the U and the A were having issues but very fun nonetheless. We go to 5 training jumps with my 4 way team which is always full of fun and love, then to a 4 way scrambles jump. Unfortunately, our Scrambles had to be postponed due to the weather and close call tornado watch , I realized then that we are definitely not in California anymore, Monday we were back to beautiful weather for another 7 way USA jump which turned out pretty good, more 4 way and 2 more fun 4 way jumps on Tuesday with some cool video. Oops! Edited to add make that 13, forgot about the AFF check out dive where I got to A license one of our newer jumpers at the DZ. It was a great weekend! Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Newer jumper? I went to the WFFC for my first time with 500 jumps and at times I found it a bit intimidating. I thought it was the coolest boogie ever and am not discouraging anyone to go. I think even a non-jumper could be entertained and have fun just hanging out there. But if you're jumping, it was certainly the most intense time I had jumping. You need to hone in on all of your skills. Imagine being in the sky with 150 other canopies all at once on an airport with 3 different jump runs all going at the same time. I think to a newer jumper it is definitely possible to jump and land safely but I would talk to some people who know what's up. I know at Rantoul I was opening much lower than I normally would just to clear my airspace on breakoff for the larger formations. Sometimes it took a good 7-10 second track which had me in the saddle at a range from 1,800 to 2,500 feet. Have fun but make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

I can tell you this: After being a packer for 3 years I packed tandems, student rigs, sport rigs and my own. I think one day I calculated somewhere in the neighborhood of about 10,000 pack jobs on mains. I never packed a mal (knock on wood) but I pack the same way every time. Main pack jobs are less intensive obviously and some people pack them a bit more carelessly knowing they have one more good parachute. Personally, if I never see a mal above my head, I won't feel like I am missing anything. I almost had one and that is when I let someone else pack for me who didn't cock my kill line properly. When I pack a reserve, I am even that much more thorough since now a person who needs to use this parachute is on their last chance and who knows what they had to deal with in the process of getting it out. I think in that regard, the probability of having a reserve malfunction would be way less. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

I agree with Jimbo in that the odds would not change if it was your first or 1000th. It really depends on the packer's odds to pack you one. Mals aren't "always" from packing, but most of them are. I have only heard of one instance when something happened to a first jump student. Supposedly when my ex-husband went to make his first jump (this was a long time ago, probably in the early 80s) he witnessed another first jump student go in from a mal (or not appropriately handling the mal). I figured that would freak anyone out enough to make them walk away but Randy went and probably figured what are the odds it would happen twice in one day? Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Speaking from the shoes of someone who went through the AFF course with sducoach, it's nice to know he is kicking butt at instructing students with rigor. Ah yes, we were exposed to no less as AFF candidates with all of our evaluators, especially Range Louda. There is a story behind his name "Range" but my story behind it was this guy had a fall rate of 90-140 on his belly. They say "Dress for success" in the AFF-I Course. Well, Range had one jumpsuit and one jumpsuit only. He had owned it for 22 years and you could tell cause the thing was patched, torn, and worn as all hell. Range is a slender, strong, lengthy guy, German, thick accent, a little on the intimidating side as an evaluator and could spin like a blender at whim. I can bet that J.E. and the rest of us who went through that course at SDC will have high standards at instructor rating courses. But hey, that just reflects better on you! Congratulations on your Instructor rating. It is an awesome accomplishment and a most rewarding "job". Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Yeah, I agree with you Shark. It would be nice to do Cat A and Cat B with them (L-1 & L-2) and then send them to the wind tunnel. Our jobs may get a little less boring say if they get some decent flying skills, but there are drawbacks to everything But honestly, I have never been in a wind tunnel and I think it would be cool to give students that experience and right before L-3 would be a good time to introduce them to it. Some of y'all are lucky, living so close to a wind tunnel and all ... I would take advantage of it. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

There you guys go ... all makin me miss California 'n stuff! Would never live there again (in LA or SF) but boy did it have it's insanely fun moments and I love to visit. I need to get out to Elsinore I think for the Chicks Rock Boogie. Jet out and roll with the homies. Have fun in LA. Don't miss out on Venice Beach or Third Street Promenade. (Two great places if you like to people watch) Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Good luck on your final Viking!!! Let us know how it went. I finished all mine yesterday and boy don't it feel GOOD!!!! Now its time to Par-Tay! Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

I think if it was me, and another instructor was giving advice I didn't agree with I would pull the instructor aside (in private) to clarify with him/her what he was saying. There are lots of instances when there is no right or wrong answer because the task can be accomplished in more than one way. However, emergency procedures for example are pretty straight forward at least when learning to pull your handles in order. The DZ I am at now teaches different EPs than the other DZ I used to instruct at with regard to a 2 canopy out situation. I had to catch myself when my instinct was to teach what my old DZ did so as not to misinform or confuse the student with what he was taught. However, if I did happen to tell someone the other way on accident (and both ways are acceptable) I would be pretty offended just from a standpoint of professional courtesy if another instructor completely undermined my authority in front of a student when he or she could have just as easily pulled me aside and first asked me to clarify my method before correcting me. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Thanks Charlene for all the info and support. Good for you on your rating, experience and insight. Those were some valuable comments for me to hear and I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I will keep an eye out for any of your tidbits of info or help. Have fun at the boogie! Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Sniff Sniff, sorry to hear about your dog, that sucks. It has been a while since I have had to deal with putting an animal down, but I miss my kitties who live in California. I hope you feel better Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

See now that is a really good idea. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

to be on your own like a Rolling Stone? I am so damn excited right now, I just turned in my last paper (final) of the semester. That one was a biatch. 10 pages in length and a minimum of 15 works cited. I was up half the fricken night just to get it done. But now the nightmare is over and it's time to live life and have some fun. Due to some earlier screwed up circumstances in my life, it's been a while since I've been able to finish a semester in school but I know this one is a 4.0 semester and it feels awesome! Congratulations to all of us who endured another semester of school and a Super Duper congratulations to all those who are graduating!!! Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

anyone could who had exceptional teammates!!!!! sorry Jen I was one of the three, unless you need it like I do to make a living, hang with the aff's and wear your own rig to make a living!!!!! That is the bomb!!! bammm tom You fawker! (One of the three ) Yeah, I'd bet You'd laugh your ass off watching me do tandems. Just remember who plowed who into the ground trying to cross train on whose rating. Himph Aaaaaaaaaaaaaalrighty then (Jen squats over spreading talking butt cheeks to imitate Ace Ventura----> "Have a nice day." (sorry folks, inside joke.) Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

The Bozo in the White House isn't you? Just caught that ... John, you so make me laugh. I saw your name on the WFFC list. Hope we can get on some dives together. Take care Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Thanks John (and everyone else) but for the record I only had about 400 jumps Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

RockyMountain: Don't forget, I am a Mommy. So the barfing, shitting in pants thing isn't enough to scare me off. I'd just have to steal all the barfbags on commercial flights and keep a couple handy in my jumpsuit just in case. And as far as skeery-est, yeah being attached to them I would want some level of confidence that I could control them in any situation physically. That is the scary part but as far as not knowing what to expect, AFF is not a lot different. Being a skydiving instructor is a little like gambling in Vegas. In Vegas you pull the handle on a slot machine and you're not sure what is going to come out. It's not a whole lot different with a first time jump student when the door of the airplane opens. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Bozo, what haven't you done (Mr. Flying Elvis in the movies, etc. ) Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Deuce, I am really curious what you mean by the leverage she uses. Seriously, I think I could do tandems (I can't believe these words are coming out of my mouth). I have been stating with great conviction for the last few years that will never be me. But now, for some screwy reason it's not sounding all that bad. That is, if I can find a way to flare that huge sucka. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

I think the idea of doing tandems sounds great and fun and all. The main things that have prevented me from going for it are my body size, upper body strength and fear of sidespins. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Oh and if you have the time, I would really appreciate your feedback or a comment on your vote. Thanks Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Okay, so I just got off the phone with a friend of mine from the DZ who is a full timer. Amazing guy: 21 years old, AFF Instructor, Rigger, Pilot, Vidiet and now wanting to go for his Tandem rating. After a short conversation he started asking me all these odd questions relating to my skydiving experience. How many jumps, how many years skydiving, etc. Next thing I know he is all serious about asking me to go get my tandem rating with him and telling me what a great tandemmaster I would be. I nearly laughed my ass off and told him basically the only appealing part of it was how much fun we'd have doing it together. We are both sort of youngin newbie instructors and riggers at the DZ. After discussing it with him further and telling him why I would not be interested, I pictured myself walking to the door with a tandem passenger attached to me, leaving the airplane and throwing the drogue. For an instant it was even a

Of course I haven't yet flown into all those fancy shmancy European airports. This coming January it looks as though I will be flying into London, Paris and Rome. I am looking forward to the adventure!