corpkid

Dude - way to blow my cover!

That's what my mom also said, unfortunately. I have to call them and ask them to remove me from the middle. I woke up today to 2 messages from her and 3 from him overnight. I'm never getting married.

Anyone ever been in a situation where your closest two friends happen to be a married couple, and then they decide to get divorced (and it's ugly) and you are caught in the middle dodging shrapnel? If so - I could use some advice... I'm trying to stay out of it but they keep dragging me back in. My primary concern is not losing either as a friend.

you might want to see a doctor unless you swoop and have a Go-Pro. Then that's about right. You are going to make me walk to the pantry and get some walnuts aren't you...?

Probably won't help, but the enormous juice-heads in my gym give me body image issues (honestly). I refuse to shrink my testicles to walnuts so I don't take that stuff, but it def sucks to be on "that" end of the weight rack while they are over there slinging volkswagens around. I guess the point is it exists for men, too... but not nearly as much as for woman I would guess. Oh and HI, I'm Dominic and I'm new here and about to start T-AFF in a few weeks. YAY! :)

I'm straight, but my boyfriend is SO gay! I'm very new here (waiting to start my T-AFF in a few days). I watched some of the videos of the boogie last year and it looks like a friggen' blast! I'll have to try and convince my VERY whuffo partner to at least try a Tandem ride! On another note - did you say you missed the morning jump from 22k? I didn't know you could jump from that high using standard gear??? If so, wouldn't that more than double free fall time? And if so, why don't more DZ's carry you up higher (than the standard 13k-ish)???

New to the sport and about to do my AFF and this will be my first boogie (of many) hopefully! It looks like a really fun event and I'm sure my partner will enjoy it as well though he won't be leaving the terra forma! I'm trying to remember - to do sunset jumps do you have to have your Class B license or can you do that whilst still on your A? I've always wanted to jump out of an airplane in my underwear after seeing them do that in DeLand after a Tandem jump. Weird desire, but a strong one! haha

Unfortunately I am and just friggen failed one of my classes by screwing up the exam date. Doesn't help the professor is UNFORGIVING. And I was supposed to graduate. I have been waiting to start T-AFF until I graduate which now won't be until the end of summer. Now I'm re-thinking that and might try to balance the two "hobbies" if I can financially afford it. I think the class I have to retake is gonna cost me dearly - like $3000 as it is five credits and retakes are pricey. That would pay for SDU's TAFF, tons of tunnel time, and even some of my own gear. I'm having a hard time staying motivated to wrap this degree up! Not thrilled.

Too much to quote so I'll just say THANK YOU ALL! Going with THE SDU program. Sounds like a really solid class and I appreciate the advice. It is NOT cheap, but I feel this is a luxury. A sick luxury, but one nonetheless. Booking tomorrow and hope to be solo jumping by this time next month. My last tandem he basically had me doing turns left and right and I manned that huge canopy up until about a minute before landing! I AM IN LOOOOOVE with this sport. BSBD brothers and sisters! Here we go!!! :)

I'm not really looking to be a hot skydiver right away. Just be able to make some jumps on the weekend and maybe start working formations eventually. I can probably get 4 jumps per day in DeLand so I'd probably be doing about 4-8 jumps a week. I did find some reviews of the SDU and it appears you leave that wind tunnel fully capable of controlling yourself in the air - which is what I want. I'm not nervous of anything other than being placed into a situation where I'm spinning, and probably on my damn back and it's time to pull... On another note - These days what does a used beginner rig go for about???

Hi all, I'm new here (well, I signed up a long time ago) and have been seriously considering going for AFF. I have done 3 tandem jumps over the course of a year and LOVED EVERY ONE! I am a bit nervous (which I think is GOOD) about jumping on my own... I am fortunate as I live in Orlando and have not only the awesome Skydive Deland up the road, but also the Sky Venture wind tunnel here in town. My (irrational) fear is that I'm going to be one of those noobs you see on youtube flailing and spinning out of control while two very freaked out instructors try to get me stable! Probably won't happen, but I want to ENSURE that does not happen! To which I came across "Skydive University" who offers 20 minutes of training in the wind tunnel then the standard AFF program. (http://www.skydiveu.com/tunnel.php) It is NOT cheap at $1700... worth it? Thanks in advance! :) Dominic

This is what I thought! You guys/gals are sooo smart! I wouldn't bother my over-worked tandem master with such questions - everytime I turned around the guy was landing with another person attached - must get tiring! Anyhow - So what the #$@ do you use a weight belt for? (newbie question, I'm sure). I understand to fall faster (or hit terminal velocity faster), but WHY would you want to fall faster? I personally would want to prolong freefall as long as possible. Which brings me to another question - because freefall is so much fun, and goes by so quick, why don't solo jumpers use a drouge to slow them down so they get more time? My only thought would be the introduction of extra "components" which could complicate things in an emergency... SO MUCH TO LEARN! Thanks!

I remember from school that all objects fall at the same rate - sans friction. Why is it that tandems fall faster than solo jumpers (and thus the drouge chute)? I have a debate with my friend on this so any help is appreciated. Also, if you could indicate why people use weight belts, that would be most helpful. Thanks so much! Dominic

So, if they are looking for "dangerous stuff" like bombs, etc... What do you suppose would happen if they found something illegal, yet didn't pose a threat to passengers (like a bag of pot or something of that nature)? Not that I would ever be so stupid as to actually put that in my luggage, but you have to wonder...?

I started smoking at age 15. Both parents did. I was up to about 1 1/2 packs a day, and honestly started to hate it - esp. since my mom was recently diagnosed with emphazema (sp?). I think one of the reasons (and I could be SO wrong here) that skydivers smoke is similar to the reason we jump. You COULD die, but you enjoy it more, and thus it mitigates the risk to YOU. I am very aware that I may be the next stat. on skydive fatalities. But I'll take my chance cuz I love the dive. When I smoked, I knew I would get nasty lung diseases, but I enjoyed smoking enough to mitigate that. The big (and this is big) difference is that smoking WILL kill you, but skydiving may not. It's really skill/chance with skydiving - smoking, there's no doubt you will die a yucky, prolonged death. I've seen it in several relatives - it just plain sucks. I'll take high-speed dirt at a buck twenty ANY day over that! I dunno - I was never really into sports - just thrills. Skydiving really made me think about what I want out of life, and one of those things is to not get all sick and not be able to jump. So, bye-bye smoking, hello nicotine patch. (which works awesome, btw). Besides, at this rate I'll be getting my first rig with the money I save in NO time. (okay, maybe a few months). Damn skydiving is expensive!

I noticed that when I smoked I got light headed when reaching 13,500... Nothing bad, just a little "fuzz". Always thought it was adrenaline but... I quit a few weeks ago and didn't have that problem on my recent jump from the same height/plane... God I want a cigarette! Not....gonna...do...it

Yeah, I thought about doing midweek training 'cuz the DZ is less crowded.. But I work full time and go to school 3/4 time. What other Dz's are good in FL? From what I see, DeLand rocks!

Was wondering what the most weeks in between jumps/levels you should let go by? I want to start my AFF, but don't have several consecutive weekends free until JANUARY I'm told to wait until then so I don't get rusty if a week or two passes between levels, but the tandem jumps are getting very expensive. What's your advice? Also, once I get my license, how often should I jump to stay current? Thanks! Dominic

Yeah, I thought about doing that... But I like shades more than goggles. Something about the form of the goggles throws me off.. Not too blind, and not too old (yet), so I'll probably grab some nifty "cool-guy" mirrored specs to go w/ my new rig. Ya figure if your spending THAT much, what's another $150? Checked and my insurance will cover up to $80, so not too bad overall! Thanks again!

You da man! That's pretty much EXACTLY what I was lookin' for! Thanks again!

I'm sure there is somewhere I can get these. I can't stand contact lenses, and I would like to be able to SEE the ground rushing up! Anyone have any info? Thanks!

Tell me about it... It's like you can define life by setting certian points: Everything before this, and everything after this. This was one of those moments for me! It's all I dream about at night, and last night, I climbed up onto my roof and watched the Sanford airport looking at the small planes coming in and taking off, wishing I was jumping off of them! I have always been a Type A person, driving fast, rollercoasters, cliff jumping - but this is so much more, it's an actual community of Type A's who love to fly! NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY ALL YOU "CRAZY" PEOPLE DO THIS! I saw a bumper-sticker at the DZ that said something like: "Skydivers jump to live life, not to defy death" I think that sums it up nicely! see ya in the sky!

Yeah, I jumped about 10 minutes after the showers stopped... I was supposed to go at 2, but it was pretty busy and I kept getting pushed back... But hey, what a GREAT place to hang out! I can say I won't be taking any night jumps for a while based on how you describe them! I saw the sign up for it Saturday, but you had to have 50+ jumps, so maybe some day! Well, at least you can say you have that under your belt, and it sounds like you did fantastic! Congrats! I'll be on the lookout for ya next time at the DZ, you'll see me, I'm the newbie in AFF probably landing it hard somewhere way off course!

That was probably me! I landed around 4ish.. I added my picture to my profile and is in my "icon". I thought I saw you, but wasn't sure, and was kind of pre-occupied with watching the folks sail in! I had never seen a parachute in my life prior to this! I was thinking about my first jump, and trying to paraphrase it. Best thing I've ever done sums it up nicely! I was pretty freaked going up in the plane as I had no idea what to expect, but as soon as we left the door, ANY feeling of nerves left, and it was just euphoric! Truely amazing, and can't wait to pull a few solo jumps! (after AFF, of course). I heard that night jumps are usually pretty "hair raising", from guys who had over 2k jumps logged! What do you mean by "interesting"?

Jumped my first tandem today in Deland for my B-day. What an incredible experience it was! I'm hooked, and starting my AFF next weekend! My TM and camera guy were excellent, and I just had a GREAT time! Everyone at the DZ was so cool and even though it was busy and I had to wait, it was cool meeting everyone. Can't wait to go back next weekend... I can already see the credit card statments!