demoknite

SDAZ still manages to put up 15-20 loads before 1pm or so in the middle of summer. At least the couple of days I was passing through. However those last couple of loads arent for the faint of heart.

You probably had the perfect storm of motion sickness, low blood sugar, adrenaline overload, and the harness cutting off your circulation at the femoral artery. Lots of people on the thread qualifying their advice with see a doctor (which is the right thing to say), but Id say give it another shot and just advise the instructor of what happened last time. If you are really looking to do AFF, let that be known too so you can actually get a class and not a roller coaster ride and those two jumps should count towards your first jump course...depending on what DZ it was. So basically, eat a high glycemic breakfast, request that you steer the canopy as that will prevent some motion sickness since you are anticipating what you are doing, and get a really good harness adjustment.

A lot!!

It's been almost a year since Ive been here, but my view from a fun jumper perspective. I believe it used to be quite the tandem factory, but with the twin otter and cheap jump tickets they are trying to attract some fun jumpers. However they are not quite there yet so they do the loads in cycles of 2 wherein they shut the plane down after the second load while the instructors pack the tandem parachutes back. So between them not having packers and not very many fun jumpers this makes for slow turn around even though they have the otter. If you come at first light leave at sunset you might get 4 jumps perhaps 5. North London is a bit of a stretch as it's in the Fens. Almost every DZ in the UK could use the name. Fun jumpers know to bring their own food and drink so no complaints about the canteen from me. Never had it. Landing area is massive. You can land anywhere in the fens and they will come get you. The staff can be a bit grizzly and full of themselves depending on the day. They all take part in packing, collecting money, cleaning up, etc so they are usually very busy. The other club jumpers are some of the friendliest Ive ever met and will change suits just to jump with you. This could be the UK's Perris Valley or Elsinore once they get a few logistical kinks worked out. If they still even have them.

I have tended to find myself with two jobs when i was younger in the military. Go to work during the day and stock groceries or other odd jobs in the evenings. I always enjoyed the job more when I knew I could tell the boss to kiss my ass and still be able to pay my bills afterwards. The same with skydiving. It's so much more enjoyable when you know that the week long weather event isnt going to keep you from eating. Or passing off the hot chick to the newb instructor because though she is hot you are tired or want to get on the tracking dive. So yeh, its best to supplement skydiving income.

So true. A cylindrical lipstick style would be so much better.

The weather comment is pretty spot on. Perhaps SoCal is perfect (or other places on earth that are similar). The AZ desert is too hot in the summer. It needs to be close enough to a major transportation artery. Las Vegas, Perris/Elsinore, SDAZ fit this bill. This gives plenty of hotel, grocery, and other options. Skydive Dallas is a bit too rural to fit this, for example. Perhaps 2 or 3 turbine aircraft are "all" that would be needed. Sort of a "one for tandems, one for fun jumper set up". $22-25 would be the rate with bulk discounts as applicable. A well manicured grassy area the size of half a soccer field would be good. I always imagined in the middle, instead of pea gravel, the DZ's logo painted like they do in american football. Plenty of safe outs, and no farmer Mcnastys. A huge arrow telling which way to land. Not a tiny windsock that you cant see until 1000 feet. No tetra hedron. A frickin' huge arrow. Some places do this. A good gear store, a good cafe/restaurant with quality food. A decent sized bed and breakfast or small type hotel with full maid service. A wind tunnel. Lots of places do some of this, none do all....that Ive known or heard of.

Yes, they had a contract. We had several quality control issues with them. Reserve pocket sewn all the way down. Velcro and ripcord pocket reversed on main side. Canopies with notes on them saying further testing required etc. We hated the Guardian rigs. They may still be making them.

n00b.

Once again, kudos. Just to throw in some devil's advocacy, why would you want to work some place where passengers make it through the initial screening at manifest and also the ground school? They harnessed him up while knowing that he had dementia and "doesn't respond to instruction very well at all." You saved yourself, the old man, and the drop zone you work for, but it shouldnt have made it that far.

Ive jumped hungover. With bubble guts. With a migraine. After a marathon. With sprained joints. A sore throat. A broken heart. But the one thing I wont jump with is nasal/sinus problems. Just wait for it to pass, the sky will always be there.

I usually use google earth and then use coordinates instead of an address.

I wish Freefall Convention should make a comeback.

Just jump and enjoy bro...!

What else would you like? I think you've missed his point. Read it again. I think he doesn't expect much.....no bitching about his terms will be enough. I, too, am a rigger and while I dont mind a thank you or bottle of something, I dont feel the need for anything more than the $ I charge.

What else would you like?

Raeford near Fayetteville, NC.

While I agree with everything said, there is a small amount of "just like riding a bike" involved. Once you get your knees in the breeze it will sort of all come back and you will question why you took so long of a break. Ive been there (though not as long as you). Welcome back!

Knights, thunderbirds, angels, etc. arent going anywhere. Comparing it to the NASCAR thing is apples and oranges. Plus with the Knights you cant always peg it to hard recruitment numbers. Seeing as how most people dont have access to a military base where they live and if they do, they probably cant get on it, those programs are a way to tell Americans, "this is what the best of the best of the military that you pay for can do". And as mentioned, all the aircraft and personnel are military assets and can be deployed at anytime if sh*t were to hit the fan. Aircraft can be repainted and reconfigured for combat and the GKs will be stuck on a C-17 with 59 of their best friends ready to jump rounds into combat. Outside of that once their tours are over they go back to the "real" military and pass thier skills on to others. Units with HALO capabilities love it when a GK comes back to the unit and can be a subject matter expert on free fall capabilities. Same thing with fighter pilots. They are also an in service recruiting tool where people can get away from their daily grind and try something else for a while.

I have never had bad customer service from a vendor. Actual DZs I have had bad customer service. Small DZs that are too busy to check your paper work and snap at you when you ask whats the next load with three slots so you can jump with your friends. Relatively large places that cant manage to keep the bathrooms clean, etc. As expensive as skydivng has become, I think it becomes more imperative to have better amenities like packing areas that dont have 3 week old rubber bands and a quarter inch of dirt on the floor. Access to drinking water and a vending machines and a decent place to sit while you wait for loads. I have also had over the top great customer service too. When you show up to a new place and they ask you what your into and introduce you to a load organizer or at least somone you can jump with. Places that pick you up when you land off and dont give you the third degree. Places with great cafes and toilets that you dont mind actually putting your ass on. I guess its a mixed bag really.

I agree the title is very unwarranted. Before clicking I thought it was going to refer to a DZ near a certain city where every goes for vacation.

I will add that it highly depends on what your home DZ in the UK will be. Some CCIs are very particular about students coming initially trained from other DZs, especially ones from other countries.

Is there a form letter floating around where we can change the "from" portion and sign our individual names to it? Im not very eloquent when it comes to things like this, but I would love to put my "vote" in.

While no self respecting English person would say they were European or lived in Europe, I did just that while I lived in England, which is not Europe. Europe.

What most people should do is, once the reserve is due inspection, remove the CYPRES and send it in yourself. Then you can pay for it, trace it, etc and when it comes back, then give to your rigger for the inspection in repack. I guess some people are intimidated by popping the reserve and removing the CYPRES but its not that big of a deal.