mattyblast

The subject line says it all, folks. Debate away! "DOOR!!!"

Wind tunnels = BLECH. I'm a newbie, but not interested. I'd rather do 500 jumps with real free-falling then 20 jumps of fake-falling to learn the same skills...unless and until the prices for tunnel time go down. All the ads I've seen for wind tunnels show prices that make me laugh out loud! "DOOR!!!"

I'm proud of myself! My last jump was my 6th and was for AFF Level 5 completion. When the canopy opened, the lines were as twisted as a stick of licorice. It took about 7 or 8 kicks, but I managed to straighten everything out. As soon as the lines were straight, I checked the altitude and it was 3000ft. Now I know you are all thinking "What's the big deal, that happened to me dozens of times, I've rescued myself from worse predicaments, etc., etc." And you're right. But I'm quite the newbie, and before I did my first jump, I could not possibly grasp the idea of keeping one's composure while under canpoy nearly a mile from the ground. So I'm proud! I owe this little success story to my instructors & jumpmasters at Sky Knights SPC in East Troy, WI, and to whomever runs skydivingvideos.com. I remembered watching a video of a guy kicking himself out of a line twist. Having that visualization in my head gave me a "he could do it, so can I" mentality. (I suppose I also should give thanks to my Taekwondo instructor!)

I'm interested in getting a group together (a large group!). I have a few questions: 1. Can everyone tell me which day of the week during the summer is usually the slowest at your DZ, all other factors being equal? I realize that there's no guarantee that a certain day of the week will always be slowest (for example, the Monday following an entire week of overcast skies would be packed, I'm sure!), but I'd like to maximize the chances that everyone will be able to jump. 2. Has anyone heard of DZ's that give the host of a large group a free jump, as an incentive for doing just that (bringing a large group of people)? Group discount rates apply, I know, but hey, I thought I'd push my luck a little further. 3. Any other suggestions? What should I do to make sure that the group outing is successful for both our group and the DZ? (By the way, the group I have in mind is Meetin.org., which is a free event-planning organization with chapters all over the world. Check it out and see if there's one for your city!) "DOOR!!!"

There is, and I just got a reply from Nancy saying that they do not make RW or student jumpsuits. That's poopy. Us non-free-flyers should get to look like big shots too! Actually, there is hope. A kind person messaged me and told me that Gravitygear.com can customize any style of jumpsuit and even come up with a design for me. So if anyone else is reading this thread because they're in a similar dilemma, there's your best answer yet. The bluest of skies, folks! "DOOR!!!"

The samples that Ouragan has on their website are absolutely fantastic. But alas, they only make suits for freeflying and wind tunnelling...unless anyone can confirm otherwise? "DOOR!!!"

Uh-oh! Another jumpsuit thread! Say, I've noticed from all kinds of sources (catalogs, magazines, websites, etc.) that it's only the FF suits that are offered with the real sharp designs. The RWs and student jumpsuits look boring, dorky, and pathetic. So... My question is, does anyone know of a company that sells some outrageously sharp designs which are actually available for RW/belly flying? For what it's worth, I'm a novice and a relatively big guy (6', 220lbs.). (I've searched all 4,526 of the other jumpsuit threads and haven't found the answer to this one, so please pardon me for subjecting all of you to another jumpsuit thread!) "DOOR!!!"