Shark

Yes, but when they see my USPA card they think twice before using my stuff. (A skydiver's lifestyle can be very different from that of a whuffo.)

That's great news!

Was that Bret Townley as your tandem instructor? In my avatar, that's him piloting the stack. I'm docked on him.

You may want to refer her to your local S&TA.

May be we have to do a better job as instructors. I cover it in my FJC, and discuss it further throughout a students training; both the AAD and the RSL.

All 3 offer AFF and are good DZs. It helps to go visit the others, though. You may be more comfortable at one, or the other. It's all good!

Yep!

You will probably have to undergo a "short re-train" or review what was covered in the FJC and definitely review emergency procedures in the training harness. If you successfully completed Level 1/Cat. A, you should be able to go directly to Level 2/Cat. B. If you can afford it, yes. There are video options that you get get for training purposes. I did this as an AFF student and it helped me out. Sometimes we are not aware of our body position or even remember the skydive. Debriefing with a video is a great tool, and just may save you some money in the event you have to repeat a level. You should also consider some tunnel time as part of your training. We have a new program at Skydive Elsinore that incorporates 5 minutes tunnel training after your Level 2 skydive, but before your Level 3, the release skydive. Upon successful completion of L3, you go directly to Level 5. This would, in effect, give you ~ 8 minutes of "freefall" versus, less than 4 minutes without the tunnel option, while approximately the same cost of the Level 4. Just something to consider. Shark AFF-I

The bottomline is that it would probably save your life if you lose altitude awareness. How much altitude awareness would you have if you were unconscious?

But you are still one of my kids.

Luckily there is another DZ in your own backyard; Elsinore. Just come on out and hang out for a bit and talk to people. Heck, there are probably at least 20 or so dotcommers that are regulars; 3 of us are staff. If you plan to jump and do not have your proficiency card completed, you may have to do a coach jump before being cleared to solo. You will also have to go through the waiver process, so bring your logbook, current USPA membership, and proficiency card if still a student. Additionally, I recommend calling the dropzone for their requirements and ask what's needed. Another thing you might do is find out and make contact with the dotcommers who jump at the dz you plan to visit. Blue skies, Shark

Daily attacks dropped to less than 18 per day, versus 40+. It's still early, but WTF.

I don't see people at the DZ as young or old. What I see are skydivers. I've had 18 year old kids and 64 year old grandmothers in my FJC. It's all good. We still have a lot of jumpers hanging out after the sunset load and now that we have a fire pit more people are staying a little later to socialize and talk skydiving. What's important is that you are having fun.

Sometimes it is difficult to convey a message on-line. Did you read his last few sentences? Quite possibly, after you gain more experience than your two jumps you will understand a little better. Backups, not to be relied on and should not be substituted for proper emergency procedures and altitude awareness.

Written by Con Coughlin, London Daily Telegraph Iraq's coalition government claims that it has uncovered documentary proof that Mohammed Atta, the al-Qaeda mastermind of the September 11 attacks against the US, was trained in Baghdad by Abu Nidal, the notorious Palestinian terrorist. Details of Atta's visit to the Iraqi capital in the summer of 2001, just weeks before he launched the most devastating terrorist attack in US history, are contained in a top secret memo written to Saddam Hussein, the then Iraqi president, by Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti, the former head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. The handwritten memo, a copy of which has been obtained exclusively by the Telegraph, is dated July 1, 2001 and provides a short resume of a three-day "work programme" Atta had undertaken at Abu Nidal's base in Baghdad. In the memo, Habbush reports that Atta "displayed extraordinary effort" and demonstrated his ability to lead the team that would be "responsible for attacking the targets that we have agreed to destroy". The second part of the memo, which is headed "Niger Shipment", contains a report about an unspecified shipment - believed to be uranium - that it says has been transported to Iraq via Libya and Syria. Although Iraqi officials refused to disclose how and where they had obtained the document, Dr Ayad Allawi, a member of Iraq's ruling seven-man Presidential Committee, said the document was genuine. "We are uncovering evidence all the time of Saddam's involvement with al-Qaeda," he said. "But this is the most compelling piece of evidence that we have found so far. It shows that not only did Saddam have contacts with al-Qaeda, he had contact with those responsible for the September 11 attacks." Although Atta is believed to have been resident in Florida in the summer of 2001, he is known to have used more than a dozen aliases, and intelligence experts believe he could easily have slipped out of the US to visit Iraq. Abu Nidal, who was responsible for the failed assassination of the Israeli ambassador to London in 1982, was based in Baghdad for more than two decades.

As long as Emily is on the plane we get a lil extra alti from him. Hop-n-pops from 8 grand are nice, too. He's not a bad freakflyer, either. I think he's in Mammoth for a couple of days making use of that brand new season pass of his. I'll see him at the Staff party Thursday and tell him you said he still sucks.

San Diego is great, but you can see La Jolla and the Coronados from altitude over Elsinore in addition to Catalina and the San Bernardino mountains. All 3 are excellent DZs with their own personalities. Go to each of them and see for yourself. Don't just take our word for it. You'll be happy wherever you go.

Congrats!

This is evidence of a Saddam/9-11 link? In what way? You know what? My bad... In my euphoria and having 3 windows open and answering multiple threads I replied to the wrong one. I'll leave it up so people can get pissed off and throw flames at me. I'm wearing Nomex, anyway... You won, okay. Are you happy?

Do you have a copy of the SIM?

In addition to the above, and when boarding the A/C I tell them the acronym ASH: Altimeter - set to zero Seatbelt - fastened Helmet - on and buckled

I guess you have proof that you were listening to me and paying attention during the FJC. Did IslandCool take pictures of the PLF portion of the class??

Dude, you should consider rephrasing that statement. There is plenty of evidence; mobile labs, video taped experiments, scientist, and thousands of dead kurds, but we have not yet found any WMD. This is a game of hide-and-seek. How easy would it be to find a hidden suitcase nuke? There may, or may not be a link, and I'm interested to see what kind of intel we get in the next few days.

Nope, she was lucky... I did the FJC and Level 1 jumps.

I didn't really understand the analogy, and I don't gamble. So, I didn't get it. And the last time I was in Vegas, I didn't remember if the casino offered a creditline for the slots.