Jeth

Thanks, guys!

Wow, I can't believe its finally here!! I will finally be jumping tomorrow!!!

Thank you for the responses everybody!

Thank you. I will definitely be asking them about flying F-111 compared to ZP. And I'll be using the student gear for a few more jumps anyway. Thanks for your honest opinion.

Thanks, thats probably a good idea. I have never done one with a canopy over my head. (Only off a table.) All my jumps so far I have landed softly on my butt. (Or not-so-softly on my face in that 1 case. ) So I don't have to worry about not standing up in front of somebody, I have yet to do it!

So what do you mean about the flare? Right now on the student canopy I do a "1-2-3" flare in a slow, smooth motion. If I do the 1 too soon, I can just hold it till its time for the 2-3. I won't be able to do that with the 9-Cell? By a "two-stage" do you mean that there is no 1, or no 3? How should I do my flare differently? I know I can ask my instructors, but if they have never flown a PD 9-Cell, they won't have a very accurate answer. Thanks.

I bought my first rig this winter, and it has a PD 9-cell in it (F-111). The student rigs have Sabre2's. I got the same size (190), but I am a little nervous about if the 9-Cell will fly differently than the Sabre2. (Haven't used it yet) I have read lots of great reviews of the 9-Cell, but has anyone actually gone from the Sabre2 to one? Or even any ZP canopy to a F-111? (Especially as a rookie) What can I expect? Thanks.

Thanks guys!

I am a student who had a bad downwind landing. I did a faceplant with my legs spread (ouch!) which injured my knee and ended my season early. The first thing I learned from this is that I need to know how to PLF. I was never taught in my FJC how to do it, so when I was in that "oh shit" moment, I didn't know what to do. Since then I have learned the PLF, and have practiced it a ton. But having done that, I am still nervous about how to handle that situation if I find myself in it again. It seems to me that PLF is for when you fall VERTICALLY too fast. In my landing, I was going forward like a bat out of hell. Some people say slide (which I'd probably try to do on my hip instead of my butt, but who knows how that'd work out), some people say to PLF. I am very nervous about trying to PLF if I am coming in fast like that again, for fear of not being able to tuck and go sideways and instead being thrown forward and landing on my head. I did not do a low 180 to try to get upwind, but I still had a nasty landing which injured me. I'd really like to be more confident about downwind landings cause I'm sure I'll find myself there again. Should I just PLF and hope for the best? Thanks.

This is driving me nuts! Is it "El-si-noor", or "Else-i-norae" or "Else-nor" or what?? Somebody wanna help me out with this one? "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Chris, I don't know U and I didn't know about your head injury, but wanted to send U some {{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} It sounds like U are handling it very well. I hope the doctors figure it out soon. Try to stay positive! Get well soon!!

I will be at SDC on the 10th. I can't go on the jump, but I will be on the ground thinking of Michele. Peace and Blue Skies Forever... "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Wow, Bigun, that is a very well thought out explanation. Well said. I will print this out and show it to my Mom before she jumps.

Ya, nothing spectacular here. But so far I have met the goals/dreams I have set for myself. Like: 1) get engineering degree 2) get job in city 3) buy great downtown condo with spectacular view 4) Travel the world (so far Switz, Italy, Germany, France, Cameroon, Kenya, Greece, Sweden, Mexico, Canada, Caribbean -- many more to go!!) 4) get masters degree -- in progress I also have a wonderful hubby who completes me, so I feel pretty good about where I am at age 30.

Wow, you actually think i'm gonna do a jump again? I thought i was just a packer now.... Well Sunny, I have never seen you jump, so I don't know if I believe Amy. I think you are just a packer!

Ok, thats good. As long as they are equally ridiculed.

Thanks, guys, for the replies. I do feel better about her going now. I have not pressured her at all (it wasn't even my idea), so if she does do it, it will be all her decision. (And all her joy and accomplishment when she's finished.

Ok, I admit, I laughed. But c'mon, I'm sure U get some fat-ass men, too!! Don't U have smart-ass names for them, too? Seriously, fat women really get shafted in our society, its so unfair. I have some overweight friends who I'd like to bring for a tandem. They are within weight limits, but they are very self-conscious and think that they will be embarrassed, so they won't go. Its really unfair that fat men don't seem to get the ridicule of fat women. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Thanks, John, for your thoughtful reply. I am feeling better about it already!

Hey all TM's, I am just wondering if you've ever had a really panicked passenger. What was the worst that U ever had? I am thinking about this because my 64-yr old mom wants to do a tandem for her 65th birthday. I think its awesome if she wants to and will enjoy it. But since she has never done anything remotely like this, I am wondering how she'll handle it. She has never been on a roller coaster, she has never gone parasailing, bungee jumping, rock climbing or anything that gets the blood flowing. And she is very scared of heights. I saw a post from a TM who said they took a 60 yr old nun. I have seen many other stories about senior citizens going up and having the time of their life. I really hope thats what happens, but I guess I'm just trying to imagine her reaction if its something less than exhilaration/joy. I can see her being in tears cuz she was so scared. I would hate for it to be a bad experience for her. But also, I have never seen an unhappy tandem passenger after their jump. Thoughts? I was thinking of maybe putting her on roller coaster and seeing how she feels after that. (Mainly for the speed/wind-in-face factor) Do you think this would matter at all? Thanks.

I think I look pretty average. Above the waist is good, but I've got a lot of luggage in the trunk. But I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin. Too many people are way too uptight with nakedness. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

I also like the TM's a lot better who treat it as a "student" versus a "passenger". My DZ does do "working tandems" in that they teach about correct body position, how to read an altimeter, how to wave and pull, and correct in-plane procedures right from the first one. On the second one you have more control over the exit and you must wave and pull, and help with the canopy flight in order to get into the AFP program. But even with all that, they are plenty happy if you just went for the ride and don't care about learning further. They don't really encourage AFP, but you are informed about it. And some TM's are better teachers than others. You can tell some of them are just in it for the money and just want to do as many jumps as possible and don't care about teaching anybody anything. On my 2nd tandem, the TM I had could've cared less that I wanted to go into AFP. I was asking him a lot of questions when we were under canopy and on final and he just said "you'll figure it out." (It kinda pissed me off. ) I think it pissed me off more cuz they require 2 tandems before AFP, so then I thought he should've taken it more as a training jump than just another passenger. But I definitely think it is a great introduction to the sky and I know I would not have taken up this sport if I had to go it solo on my first one. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Dave, I have seen some of your posts. I think maybe you are overreacting or too sensitive or something. DZ.com is NOT unfriendly to newbies. I found it suprisingly welcoming! If a newbie posts in the greetings forum, they will almost always get a personal welcome from Skymama, thats pretty nice in a forum as big as this one! (Except me, U still owe me a jump, skymama....) There will always be people who don't answer or answer with some smart-ass comment, that doesn't mean the whole commuity is shutting you out. There are many, many friendly & helpful people in this forum. At first I wanted a newbie forum, too, cuz I figured the experienced people didn't want to hear about all my rookie jumps. But it turns out many of them like to hear our stories, and they offer a lot of great advice and info, too. I agree with going to a small DZ, too. My DZ is really huge, and it was very overwhelming/intimidating when I went there. But you should be able to talk to people and learn more at a cessna DZ. And if you are as excited about the sport as you say you are -- JUST DO IT!!!

Ditto here. It was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but here I am $3000 later.... I agree that its too bad a lot of DZO's just make tandem factories. But I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for my tandem, so I have to say its a great way to do a first jump. And I know it brings a lot of money into DZ's and that helps them make nice facilities for fun jumpers. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Ok, thats basically true. Whenever I biff my landings, I just recite "Hey, my Dad says any landing U walk away from is a good landing!" But in his case, he crawled away, barely, and nearly died. So I would have to say that one was pretty bad. But I do see your point about commercial aviation versus a private plane. I generally feel pretty safe on an airliner, which I am on quite frequently. But since we're on the subject, what about other crashes? If there have only been 4 due to loss of fuel, are all the other ones terrorist attacks? Haven't there been any that were engine failure or pilot failure or bad weather or something else? "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site