skycat

Hey how about a little more info since some of us can't get a hold of a Skydiving due to the holidays? Kelli

Try Skydive San Marcos, it's actually in Fentress Texas. The people there are great, lots of Freefliers, and the Gravity Rats are almost always out there doing coaching. Plus if I'm correct thier $99 weekends are suppose to start up again. Kelli

one word...... skyvan!!!!!!!

hehehe...ok maybe it is odd, but I still remember cussing at the wind cuase it made it hard to do practice ripcord touches. I also remember thinking the video guy need to get out of my face....I was working DAMN IT!!

Here in Houston all we have is Big DZs, One does AFF (athough I heard they are switching to AFP) and it says they do S/L but I've never seen them do one, and the other does strait AFP (Tandem Progression). Having jumped at both DZs with students strait off of student status like their 1st or 2nd jump, I have to say that the AFP students hands down are better in the air and under canopy. That probably has to do though with the fact that AFP has something like 3 tandems and 19 AFP jumps though, instead of 7 AFF jumps with depending on the DZ 6 required coach jumps. My boyfriend is a JM and has tought at both DZ, and he thinks that AFP is the way to go, as long as everyone does thier jobs. Tandem masters not letting it be a ride and making the student work on those 3 tandems, and really talking to the student under canopy explaining things. As an AFP student not only do you learn turns and forward movement, you learn how to dock, and many other things. Also, as part of each jump are certain things you have to do as canopy requirments, whether it is rear riser flares or pulling on the front risers. (This is done up high) I know there are people out there who say I don't want to do a tandem, and I'll be the first to admit that the one tandem I did although it felt like a ride, and I didn't really like it, definately better prepared me for AFF, I had very little sensory overload that everyone talks about on any of my jumps.

Hmmm....now you guys got me thinking, I've been wanting to get my belly re-pierced. It was pulled out a few years ago in a club while I was dancing....(Long Story) Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has had it done. I've heard it hurts A LOT worse the second time.

I don't know if you are head down or in a sit, but for me in a sit all I have to is keep my arm strait and bring my hand up. Then all I have to do is turn my head and I can see it without any problems.

Well I don't know how big you are, but I'm tiny, and well that HUGE J??(felt like a 10) was wider than me and caused me to turn and spin out of control I quickly learned that along with toe touches throw in a rig shift to put the rig back on the center of my back after a turn. One of my old JM still tells everyone the story of me coming around from doing a 360 and shifting my rig to stop. She said it was the first time she laughed in freefall on an AFF jump. Cause not only did I shift it to stop, I shifted it again to turn the other way. Of course once I got my own gear I actually had to learn how to fly my body and not my rig. Kelli

Hey now since it's all about the ugly chicks I think we should get to pick the beer..... Personally I like Corona.

1st, you are not beating me up. I did have some less than beautiful landings especially as a student, I mean I only made it back to the DZ maybe 3 times, and when you have a pilot chute over the nose 4 times in a row, and almost every landing you had to do looking behind you cause you are backing up, yeah you are going to have some bad landings, and have ALOT of canopy fear. I used to HATE being under canopy, I used to sit in the plane dredding the end of the skydive. On top of it the gymnastics that made me able to PLF like I was born doing it (saved my butt on those pilot chutes over the nose) also left me with a really bad knee that I still to this day I will protect from the force of a landing by sitting down, actually it's more squating, to prevent it from being injured in anyway. btw...I don't care what anyone says .4-.5 wingloading is not good for anyone..I didn't learn anything other than point the canopy toward the DZ when you are open and pray you make it back...on the other hand I'm GREAT at picking outs and PLFing. When I downsized to the canopy I currently have I've had good landings from jump one. I had 50 jumps on it before I started getting coaching, but I've always been asking questions, I'm not "heads up" I'm anal and a perfectionist. Also because I'm a perfectionist, if I don't do something perfect I think it was bad, like when I hadn't jumped a bootie suit in ages and slipped in the mud at the end of my landing cause I didn't have my normal traction. You have no idea how mad I was at myself. Also I 100% agree with you that with the wrong technicque like I had when I first started jumping my crossfire would have hurt me when I downsize, I had a definately saber flare that I just kind of adapted to the crossfire. I knew it was wrong, so that is why I chose to get coaching, cuase I don't want to get hurt, actually it's cause the smoother I am and the better I get the less stress that is put apon my knee.

You mean something like this.... That is me taking the picture under a Crossfire 116, and Derek under a VX60. http://www.jumpergirl.com/kelli2.jpg

Ok I'm not trying to start this all over, but I think asking questions by newbies is a good thing. Currently I'm getting canopy coaching and in the last few weeks I've learned so many things I never would have thought about. I was landing fine under my canopy, but my coach said my technique was wrong. What I was doing was going to get me into trouble when I do downsize to higher wingloadings. By changing my technique on how I flare, when I flare, and what my body is doing while I flare, I actually get very nice "swoopy" landing on strait in approches. I'm not even using my front risers. I mean how many newbies have actually hit the accuracy target? I hear alot of well I can do it if I have to it, or well the landing area is so huge why should I have to. After watching probably some of the best swoopers around doing stuff that to me was amazing, I was told that 99% of it is accuracy, being at point X at Y altitude, and if you aren't there, abort and find an alternate. There is a lot a young jumper can learn to make them a better pilot, and it is good that they ask questions, the more questions the better. The thing is figuring out what is crap and what is worth learning and trying. Kelli

Shreik! ... here we go again.. Sorry had to say it.

Well here in southwest Texas you can definately tell the humidity change. It's cool crisp and dry at altitude and at about 5,000 feet while still in freefall you can feel it get hot and humid. It is one of the oddest feeling. Kelli

I have exercise and allery asthma, hadn't had an attack in almost 10 years, and this year I've had 3. One after sitting in a smokey bar after getting over phenomena, one after going threw a haunted house with lots of smoke from smoke machines, and only once after skydiving. The skydiving one was very mild and I really didn’t even notice I had one until after I landed and I realized I was having trouble breathing , I'm pretty sure it was brought on by the very cold dry air at altitude compared to the warm humid air on the ground, the other 2 were actually medium to high in severity. I jump at an otter DZ and we end up going to 14-15K all the time and I’ve never had a problem with hypoxia from my asthma. Now the weekend we were at 18K and circling due to a reserve premi someone on the plane in front of us had…..can you say flying high.

WOO HOO....You know I'm there.....Maybe I'll have a main for my water rig, and we can have an Ugly Girl "water swooping" contest. Since half the girls can fit in that rig, none of their gear has to get wet. This is not hook turning, this is just doing accuracy over the water, the goal is to get wet. =P I can't wait!!!!! Kelli

Don't forget Zennie that you did learn under a Saber not an F111 like a lot of us did. I really feel that that did give you a slight advantage over someone like me who learned on an F111 with maybe a wingloading of .5 (really it was a round with squared off corners.

Reminded me of Fandango.....

I know a few guys who jump optic nerve sunglasses. www.nerveusa.com

Nope I was the token female.......

Guess who had the crotch shot on exit....yep that's right....ME!!!! I got to see way to much of Marc...but damn that was a fun jump....Even if I was about to go work on head down when I was invited on the jump just before we got on the plane

*shrug* it's up to you. Said people are the ones that started it, and if they wanted us to take it as a joke, then they had better be prepared to do the same. If they didn't mean it as a joke then I want a public apology. Kelli

How about low cut and lacy with a pretty hat...

Oh my....I can't wait to see this. I'll make sure to get a video camera for this one. Or maybe the UG #6 will video it so it's an official ug jump. and i want to see pink...lots and lots of pink

How about #6 I'll give #5 to brit.