Scubadivemaster

labrys- First off, that bank information is printed at the bottom of every check you write. Every crack smoking 7-11 employee you have ever handed a check to has your bank account information. We have this idea here in the US that bank account numbers are sacred and protected. Go to a European website and you will see that they post their bank account numbers right on the site so that people can wire them money directly. Wire transfers have gotten to be so popular internationally that no one else in the global community thinks a thing of giving out account numbers. Second, either you folks missed my post, or just ignored it. This is a known scam! There is an ongoing investigation into this, as many others have been taken as well. Why is everyone so interested in protecting the scammer? Lets offer our support to the victim.

Damn I wish you had asked first! Jeffrey Dancy is the alias of the guy who stole FastandEasydeal's identity on DZ, as well as hijacked his Ebay account. There have already been several FBI IC3 filings on this. Feel free to PM me and I will fill you in. No reason to let the shit know everything that we know.

After spending 2 hours in the Skyventure AZ tunnel this past week, we are hooked! What an amazing experience! Thanks to Mick, Jason, and Jim for the coaching and help. Already planning our next fix, I'm looking at closer tunnels to fill the void until I can get back to Eloy. How much of a difference is there in the Eloy tunnel and the first generation Orlando tunnel? The New Hampshire tunnel? Do the recirculating tunnels "Fly" differently, or is that just an opportunity to condition the air a bit and save energy? Why didn't somebody warn me this was so addicting?!?

Great link to someone asking the same questions. I'll be back to ask "What the hell did I do wrong?" in a couple of weeks. Thanks all for the suggestions and help. Glad to know to ask for the exit platform from Burner, etc. I've said this before, but one of the things I love about this sport(?lifestyle?) is that even the "Greats" are happy to give the beginner pointers. Unlike anything I have been involved in before.

For future reference, if two guys are involved, as they seem to be here, you don't really need the spermicide. I mean, really, you've got to accept that you asked for anything that anybody says to you after that question!

Tom, Up where? Chin up 45 degrees above the horizon, or head back straight up?

One of the suggestions for getting ready for BD is to do Balloon or Helicopter jumps. I am planning on doing some balloon jumps this month in Eloy, using skydiving gear. Any suggestions for how I can make the most of this experience in hopes of getting ready for this year's BD? Exits, body position, etc? I have just over 100 skydives, and no base jumps. Any help would be appreciated.

Sold! Thanks for the information. I was feeling pretty disappointed that Eloy might not be a good option for us, but now I'm excited again. I think the wind tunnel will be very helpful for us, and its starting to get just a bit nippy here in Kentucky to do many jumps. Thanks everyone for your help!

First - Don't jump all over me, this is an honest question with no assumptions made because of the recent accidents. I don't want to talk about those incidents; they have been more than thoroughly covered in the incident forum. My wife and I have been considering a trip to Eloy this winter to take advantage of the wind tunnel and warmer weather jumping. However, after reading the incidents forum, there seems to be an overall feeling that Eloy is geared toward "pros", and even some suggestion that low timers like myself might be out of place there. Before anyone gets all pissy with me, I am not trying to insinuate, or even repeat, anything bad about Eloy. In all aspects of life there are places that only the more experienced should go; that are poor places for beginners. My question is simply if the consensus is that Eloy is really one of these places for Skydiving.

Really? That's a shame, as they produce such high quality video on the ground. Which camera specifically do you have experience with?

You boss gave you a massage? Wow, my wife would get pissed if my boss massaged me, even if we went to a REALLY nice spa to do it.

Froggy- The $11 jump at West Tennessee Skydiving is only for the first load of the day, if you manifest for it before 8 am. Of course, $11 for a jump from Mullins' King Air is very cheap. The rest of the jumps are the normal $22 price. Great facility all around. My wife and I jumped there this weekend for the first time and had a ball.

Skydive Belize looks great, but we are looking for more of a canopy school than a boogie. Maybe for next year, though . . . You think people are wearing their own rigs on the intentional Blue Hole water landings?

It appears from their site that they shut all water activities down while the manatees are there. Does that sound right?

Sorry if I was unclear here. I was answering the question about diving in Nashville, Tn. I confused myself when I read my reply. Should have read: Though some will surely argue, there is simply no good diving in the Nashville area. Sorry for any Floridians that misinterpretted that.

Though some will surely argue, there is simply no good diving in this area. If you want to work on skills or training, there are many quarries to dive in, but nothing interesting if you have really seen the underwater world in the Caribbean or elsewhere. We jump (if that was your question) primarily in Bardstown, Ky. It is a great and friendly place to jump, and we call it home, even though it is an hour and a half away from the house. I have received messages from people suggesting DeLand and Sebastian. Any Scuba suggestions close to those two dropzones?

As you may guess from my screen name, I am a PADI Divemaster, as is my Wife. We have seen the light and turned into skydivers, but are still trying to keep current and do some spectacular scuba diving. For our vacation this year my wife has given me these requirements: A canopy school so that we can get some good direct coaching on canopy skills, and we HAVE to be able to do some scuba diving. And not cold, dark, wish we were somewhere else scuba diving; we want warm water, clear, 3mil at tops wetsuit diving. Anyone know where we can find both within a single day flight from the central US? (Flying out of Nashville, TN or Louisville, KY). I'm sure we could find both in Australia or in some remote location, but I don't want to spend most of my vacation in transit. Before someone lectures me, I understand the skydive then scuba dive requirements; I spent 6 months in Mexico teaching scuba, so I understand those requirements. Input is greatly appreciated!

Thank you all for the information and thoughts. My fear was that there was something mystical and mysterious about the Silhouette that made it behave so radically that only an expert should jump it with anything close to 1:1 loading. I can see from the answers I have received that this is not the case. People at my DZ are familiar with the silhouette, but no one had jumped one, and were as unsure as I was why the wingloading recommendations were so conservative. I hooked it up and packed it today, and it certainly packs nice! One of my instructors (who has been letting me use his Spectre 170) is going to jump the Silhouette first to let me know if he thinks it is appropriate for my skill level. Kolla, I appreciate you recommendations and info. What a sport this is that people from the manufacturer care enough to give you their input. Try getting that sort of support from a scuba equipment manufacturer! Thanks again for the thoughts, I'll let you know how it turns out.

First, thank you for your advice. As far as it being really conservative at 1:1, I would have to say that some of that is the fact that we are talking about a very large canopy, which as you know is less responsive at 1:1 than a smaller canopy of the same design at the same wing loading. My wife flying her 190 Spectre at much lighter wing loading is flying a much more responsive and aggressive canopy than my 230 at 1:1. As far as feeling comfortable under the 190 and the 170 Spectre, I do, but you will notice that I am not planning on downsizing to one of those. I know that my 230 is going to be a lot more forgiving in some situations, and while I will readily jump it in 14Kt winds, I wouldn't jump the 170 or 190. What I am looking for is a compromise, and I am hoping that the Silhouette 210 fits that bill. Unfortunately, from the PD charts, my weight under a Silhouette 210 is as aggressive as under a Spectre 170. I just have a hard time accepting that this is the case, based on wing loading and that so many people seem to recommend the Silhouette as a starter canopy. Since I already HAVE the Silhouette 210, I would like to jump it, but am here asking questions first.

I'm hoping for some information on the flight characteristics of a PD Silhouette 210. My exit weight is about 225, and I have been jumping a Spectre 230. A Silhouette 210 came with my rig when I bought it used, but PD's charts show that only an Exp. jumper should use this canopy at my wing loading, so I bought the Spectre 230 as a first canopy. Over the past month I have jumped my wife's Spectre 190 and a Spectre 170 several times (while Strong had my rig doing some mods). I feel very comfortable under either of those canopies, and have had no problems flying or landing them. Anyone experienced with the Silhouette that can give me some advice on how it will handle differently? I just got my rig back, and don't really want to go back to the 230. It is a fine canopy, but at 1:1 is a bit like being attached to a cloud. I'm sure from reading these forums that some readers will tell me that I have downsized way to fast, but I think it should be taken into consideration that the 230 was a really conservative first canopy, and after 30 jumps on it, I am only now going to what might have been an appropriate first canopy. Thanks for the input! (Please understand, if you are familiar with the Silhouette, and agree with PD that it is deceptively advanced even at 1:1, I want to hear that. Better that than people visiting me in the hospital telling me that any idiot knew I shouldn't jump a Silhouette.)

Lew, I have one of these cameras and love it, but have not used it skydiving. There are many drawbacks (No visual viewfinder, no way to easily hook up an indicator light, short battery life), but the picture quality is incredible and you never have to change tapes. I am looking for a box that it will fit in, or some kind of mount that will fit it so that I can try using it for skydiving. Anyone have any box or mount suggestions? Has anyone tried using one of these hard drive cameras skydiving with any luck?