Joellercoaster

Yeah. My girlfriend did AFF 1 straight away, since she wanted to get licensed and thought tandem would just be a delay (and funds are an issue), but says she really doesn't remember much about it. I had one tandem jump before I started AFF, and the stage 1 jump was really good fun (though still a bit overloady). And for the first half-dozen stages, I kept thinking I wanted to do another tandem just so I could enjoy it without concentrating so hard on what I had to learn this dive. My last stage (7) was OK though... I felt very comfortable and more like I was just up there for fun, though I had to jump through a couple of hoops still. I don't have the urge to do another tandem any more, but I'd definitely recommend it for anyone's first time. It's a *lot* more fun than AFF 1. Can't comment on S/L, since they don't offer it at my DZ. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Hey all... I did my FJC last year, some time around July (at Nagambie, Victoria, Australia). It's been hard for me to get down to the dropzone in the interim, to the point where I've only managed to make it to stage 7. The instructors were keen for us to do stages 1 and 2 together, and 3 and 4, so I did. I had a few months off between 6 and 7, to the point where I was pretty apprehensive about jumping again for the last one. I've been nailing my stages, despite the gaps, but I'm wondering if I'm missing or losing things because of the big gaps - it'll have been a good four months since 7 before I can do stage 8. (I'm not sure if AFF courses are the same everywhere - ours includes a two-jump stage 9 consisting of low-altitude hop-n-pops.) In particular, I feel like I have no feel for spotting, and I haven't learned to pack (the DZ has packing classes seperately, and I haven't been able to get there on those nights). So my question is, should I be worried? Should I delay coming off student status and repeat some stages, or just ask for more help between then and finishing my A license? -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[finally delurk] My friends and I have been having pretty much this discussion regarding raving, and came to pretty much the same conclusion. Drugs and bad behaviour are everywhere, but the family we've found among the ravers isn't. It came up because my fiancee and I got talking to this couple in their 40s who are still going to big parties, and they're impatient for their daughter to be old enough to come with them. Initially taken aback, we then realised we'll probably be thinking the same way when our kids are one day curious. Back on-topic for a second, Emily recently did her AFF stage 1 and will be back for the rest. In exchange, I'm going to learn to ride a horse properly. Anything our partners love so much, we think, will inevitably become a family activity, even before there's more than just the two of us. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?