Orange1

lol - broke - i think it was bob who taught me to check profiles after assuming that someone in Oz was from the US and about to hit winter! (apologies tonto for off-topic sideline) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Hi all, i will be in London at the end of Feb. Any recommendations on a tunnel close by? Would like a coach too! Thanks in advance... Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

hmmm.. interesting reading the above. I landed kind of out once due to being blown back over the DZ by the wind. I was fine but took about 10 or 15 minutes trying to get my canopy out of the tree it had become entangled in (i'd landed in a little dirt road between a bunch of trees). When i got back to the hangar they were just about to send the plane up to look for me (having sent a car that couldn't find me because they sent it down the wrong road!). We don't jump with cellphones but it did lead to a discussion that maybe we should... (p.s. i should emphasize the wind had picked up quite a bit since we took off - I didn't jump again that day obviously) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

In my short career: - first freefall (off the dope rope) - first time i was allowed to spot for the load (yes we all made it back - and it was a cessna so it was a "real" spot ) - getting my A. I hope there will be lots more! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Jimmy, as someone who has done both SL and AFF I can't really agree with you. I did 12 SLs, with the problem at first being stability, as well (btw we have a minumum of 8, not 5, here). I'm not quite the featherweight morningdove is but am still relatively light (for a skydiver) at 120lb and I have wondered before as there seems to be a link between small girls and SL instability! fwiw, i had a brilliant first freefall, and switched to AFF mainly because the progression was shorter... Morningdove, I do think though it sounds like there is an issue that your SL jumpmasters, for whatever reason, haven't been able to pick up. If AFF feels comfortable, I'd say go with it, especially as you have the advantage of probably being reasonably comfortable with both the door and canopy control by now, enabling you to concentrate on the freefall. Have fun! btw if you can get vidoe, do, because it's a great learning tool. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

A question to the instructors reading this. I've never done any intended backflying, but when I did AFF i was told that if you go on your back, you can end up in a situation where arching just puts you in a stable back-to-earth position and therefore was taught to barrel-roll to get belly to earth. So, I am somewhat confused by the advice to arch - any comments? (And yes, i'll check with my own instructors, and no, i don't plan to freefly for a good while yet, at least till after i've entered nationals in FS) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Did you ever have any similar issues when you started paragliding? Fear of launching? Or just possibly it's something of a mental block as you are used to a sport where you have an open canopy over your head as you launch? I agree that a refresher, etc may help but utlimately the answer IS "just go jump". I don't know how many times early on I sat in the plane thinking "what am i doing, i must be mad, i'm in the plane so i might as well jump but this will be the last".. of course, it never was (though I did ride the plane down once very early on). Familiarity IS your friend. Fool your body into relaxing by deep, steady breathing on the way up. Visualise the perfect jump. And do it. And it's amazing how quickly you reach a stage where a door opening mid-flight seems perfectly normal

way to go!! when's your next jump? p.s. it's not the parachutes you need to be afraid of, it's the ground Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Yes, which is why i made sure to add and there is a guy who was doing AFF with me who has also had plenty offers to jump with other people Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

I just wanna say that I kept on seeing this on dz.com. Boy, was I surprised at the number of people with a few hundred jumps (ok maybe not 1000s and super-experienced, but certainly with a few hundred RW dives) happy to jump with me! And not just when I asked, but offering too... (and for the sceptics, no not only guys) Well, they can see this anyway on a small DZ, even if you're a student pitching up regularly, so maybe that's where i got lucky. Or maybe we just have nicer skydivers here Sorry to extend a topic off the original thread, but just felt i had to say this. Don't just assume no-one wants to jump with you. Ask! What's the worst that can happen, they can say no? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Nope. It's coming into summer here. It's almost 30C outside my front door right now. didn't check the profile and just assumed US... which is rather silly as I'm in a southern hemisphere heatwave right now too kirrz - isn't there a DZ near your home? jeez... if i had the opportunity of 3 months off just to jump i'd be over the moon!! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Is the 3 months due to weather? Are you staging it like that because of money? My personal opinion, though it will lead to the consequences Andy describes, is jump soon and do as many as you can ... just because you can Others will disagree with me of course but i think if you have a chance to jump, do it, why wait?? But, also check your particular currency requirements, at student level you will almost certainly have to repeat a level as well as undergo refresher training if you take 3 months off. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Wow Kathleen - glad to hear you're ok! I presume you were facing the front of the plane? we were warned to take a proper "step" backward rather than just let go or that could happen... anyway, soon you'll be facing the other way and diving off that step, whcih is a lot more fun I hit the side of a plane once on exit, a C210 where suddenly the landing gear was up (FS team leaving before me) and i'd only ever dived out it before with no landing gear in sight... not nice to be in the door of a plane and be thinking "wtf is that doing there???"!! - bad angle on exit, small bruise on my arm but i kept on thinking -- could've been my head, glad i'm wearing a helmet! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Thanks.. my German doesn't extent much beyond basic conversational and my french is non-existent so i may pm you closer to the time for more info Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Depends where you are from as well. In SA we need 75 freefalls for a B licence but a lot of other countries seem to require 50 jumps. I've also noticed people with less than 25 jumps posting themselves as A licences which I guess is country-dependent as well Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Thanks for the info guys (and the PMs!) ...i've been to switzerland before, pre-jumping days, including some restaurant on a 25th floor (?) in interlaken... so i know how beautiful it is! i reckon worth the high jump prices for the views Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

well, i LIKE my clownsuit... more seriously, i was told to choose a suit so that (1) the colour can be visible to jumpers both above and below you (eg wearing a grass green jumpsuit over a grass DZ may not be such a great idea) and (2) that it's better to have the grips in contrasting colours so the people you are jumping with can see them easily (this may not be as important for more experienced jumpers) ps that orange nightmare in my avatar is the only club AFF suit that would fit me (my own is black with green grips ) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

My gut response is that nobody should be "made" to look at fatality pictures. There should be enough in the training to make students aware of the risks. In response to the original post about students believing the sport is safer than it is, well, i think that is also a kind of defense mechanism to actually 'fool' yourself into jumping in the first place! Thinking on it a bit more, though, I think there could be an argument for "making" people - not necessarily just students - look at fatality pictures. I'm thinking people who do unsafe things in the air. Rather than just, say, a grounding, it could be: "this is the consequence of someone who did what you did but wasn't as lucky as you, and it could be you next time".... just my 2c. btw, i just got the Skydivers Survival Series. A couple of people filmed or interviewed in there have died in my short time in the sport - just watching them talk/fly in the dvd and knowing that they are no longer around is enough to remind me of the significant risks in the sport. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Will be on a trip there next year and was wondering if anyone had any info. Found only 2 DZs on the net, one in Interlaken (which a search revealed someone here said is a "tourist tandem" place only but that's not what their website implies) and a DZ that seems to roam around the french area of switzerland... Interlaken would be best as I'll be in Zurich. Any info welcome, thanks!! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Welcome! Like the others said - please fill out your profile! I wanna know if you're mamba queen because you're also from the land of the mambas? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Awesome, Kathleen!! And it just gets better from here on Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

A couple of guys have said things like this... why are people riding larger planes apparently not able to spot? We do have GPS in the planes but always do a proper look-out-the-door spot before we jump which seems...obvious, I thought? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

I ordered mine while i still on student status too. I always knew i wanted to do FS, so choosing the type of suit was easy. Just make sure you get measured up and get advice on material etc at the store where they (should) know what they're doing - at the time i ordered i had no idea what a difference fit and fabric could make and in retrospect am very happy I got the right advice at the time... it could have ended up being an expensive mistake Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

I'm not very fit but i have to start, especially strengthening my arms (small girl - i find flying on risers and packing quite demanding ) but the professional skydivers (TMs/AFFIs etc) at my DZ seem pretty fit... Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

OK, I don't feel so deprived anymore so far, have never jumped anything but cessnas - 182, 206, 207 and 210. Ah, the luxury the one time in the 182 when we put out 2 SL students at 3000' and had all that space for 2 people the rest of the flight up!! btw, someone told me there are only like 10 C270s worldwide - surely this can't be true??? Does anyone know? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.