Baksteen

Er... take your date to her place? "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

I am a skydiver with a past of epilepsy, who recently had his first wind tunnel experience in Roosendaal, The Netherlands. Before getting to the tunnel proper, we had to pass through an airlock, which I failed to recognise as such. Therefore I was taken by surprise by the sudden drop in pressure as the outer door closed; I felt a wave of dizziness, and had to grip the banister with my right hand to keep from falling. I steadied myself and let go. A second later I realised that I was dizzy (as I used to seconds before an otherwise unexpected seizure) and I felt a surge of panic. I nearly ran back out to the locker rooms. Instead I closed my eyes, gripped the banister again and reasoned with myself that a fall in pressure was only to be expected, as the updraft in the tunnel was bound to suck air from the surrounding chamber. So i was probably not going to have a seizure, especially since I had carefully taken my meds the past few weeks, and since my last seizure was so long ago, etc. My panic lifted,the dizziness passed, and I had a blast with my first ten minutes of tunnel time without any other.. "side effects". I am posting this because the drop in pressure was a really nasty surprise. I don't know if others are as attuned to unexpected changes in their surrounding environment, but forewarned is forarmed. I have felt this wave of dizziness before; during my first high-alti jump from 19.000 ft, right after taking off my oxygen mask. The difference is that in that case i was expecting an unfamiliar environment, and prepared to feel a bit weird at first. edited for clarity "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

actually, it's not my leg... Pet peeve #1 People who board the train by pushing past the passengers trying to exit. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

I currently have 40-50 jumps on my (rented) Navigator 240, and haven't jumped anything else in the meantime, so I am confident that I can land it reasonably well. Yet when I am planning to go jumping I intend to do a PLF, especially when, say, the winds are different from the last few times I jumped. Only in the split-second when I get the "feel"of the flare I just did, I may decide to stand it up after all. It's a bit hard to find the right words to explain what I mean, but anyways, this method seems to work for me. I have about ten to twenty (conservative estimate) PLFs in about 95 jumps. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Congratulations! Nice feeling isn't it?

Em, actually that was meant to be a rather lame joke.. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

*The holier-than-thou poster: Born with a thousand jumps, and never been an exitable noob. Tends to tell noobs to stfu until they got more experience. *the troll: Makes posts that border on a PA, like The spammer: Perpetrates stuff like quoting his own posts without really adding anything to the discussion. The Well-I-know-the-answer-to-your-question-but-I-have-only-1-to-300-jumps-and-1-to-3-years-in-the-sport-so-I-am-afraid-to-post-my-opinion-and-am-going-to-try-to-cover-my-a$$-as-well-as-I'm-able-by-including-a-lot-of-the-standard-replies-to-questions-similar-to-yours-else-I-get-flamed-mercilessly-by-the-DZ.com-police-posters-type-of-poster poster Jumpers without much experience, who enthousiastically try to give well meant advice, but tend to get bogged down avoiding to be flamed. While their advice should be taken well salted by anyone, they can nevertheless contribute a student's point of view to an issue. The Contributor of Valuable Responses: This type of poster really pisses me off, usually limiting his reply to "Do a search" or something similar. The crusader: Hijacks threads to more but usually less subtly fight for his cause, such as for instance the right of newbies to post their opinions without getting shouted down. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Nope, I said i was a static line student, in addition to not being an instructor, so I have no practical knowledge of the AFF program.

Hi clayton, and welcome. I was like you, I never did a tandem but went straight to the course. However, I did static-line, not AFF, nor am i an instructor. Therefore I cannot comment on how long it takes on average to complete all AFF levels, but there is no shame in having to repeat one or more. You'll get there. Whether or not you'll have to repeat any ground instruction if you only want to jump every few months is up to your instructor. I do know however, that the more you jump, the quicker your progression will be. I also know that if you truly catch the SkydiVirus you'll not be satisfied with only one jump every few months, and that you'll find yourself at the DZ whenever possible.

Sure, but there is swiss cheese, gorgonzola, brie, edam, Limburger, cheese spread etc. etc. All cheese, yet all very different. The same goes for parachutes. There are many different ones, with 9 or 7 cells. They are constructed from F111 or Zero porosity fabric or both, they come in different sizes, and with different lines ( microline, spectra, dacron). There is a difference in the amount of taper of the canopy, as well as in how steep it is trimmed. Just a few things off the top of my head. They're not cast-iron rules, they're guidelines. But the manufacturer puts them up for a good reason. Especially at our experience level we should follow those guidelines, as well as our instructors recommendations. There is no such thing as downsizing too slowly, or "under loading" your canopy. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Fixed it for ya "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Positive indeed! He even admits it's his own mistake that induces the tumble

This is me. It's a year later now, and I have found the vast majority of skydivers surprisingly tolerant of people with medical issues. As to the few people who are scared of epilepsy patients, and say stuff like I have news for you. The choice is actually mine, not theirs, since these are not the people who I wish to jump, or indeed, associate with anyway. So there should be no moral dilemma for them in how to turn me away firmly but politely. So you see, in a way i am just as bigoted as they are. Life is all about balance. edited for spelling "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

I've read a few similar posts, and every time I can't help but wonder: What's the hurry? Relax, and have some fun along the way. The A-licence (or D-licence for that matter) is not what people will judge you by. It's the skills you demonstrate on a jump, and equally important (or even more so) the person you are when having a beer after the jumnping is done. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

I agree with you. Give them a chance! [rant] As to the rest of the article, why does everyone only focus on the negative? I'm glad that, for once, there is a reporter who does his best to try to see things our way, and to show the general public the problems skydiving is starting to face. He doesn't quite get it spot on, but attitudes like some of those in this thread aren't helping. As skydivers, it is our own resposibility to educate the well intentioned part of the media and to KEEP them friendly. Check out my sig, and think about it. [/rant] "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

[reply(I use the DZ's hangar as a guide, as it is about 12 feet high -- when I can no longer see over its roof, it's time!) Isn't there a kinda dangerous problem with this method? How do you know to time your flare when you land off? Not ragging on you, just curious, and slighty worried... "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Yeah! Congrats everyone! "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Oh.. okay "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

disclaimer: I'm freshly off student status, so I am not claiming to give good advice. Listening to me instead of a knowledgable and certified instructor could very well get you killed or injured..yadda yadda. (God, I hate having to put this up with every single post ) Maybe get a videot to capture (quite) a few of your landings? I feel I learned a lot by having an instructor who specialises in canopy control debrief those landings step by step with me. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

I'm not an instructor, in fact I made my first jump a relatively short while ago. Do you really trust a student with a malfunctioning radio during their very first oh-so-overwhelming-jump to have the judgement to determine when a low turn is necessary / survivable /merited? Just this weekend, a relatively new jumper told me quite happily he did a low 90 because they thought they were venturing too close to a ditch. I asked to show me how their hands were positioned during the turn. They indicated that one hand was at full flight, the other at hip level. Then I asked this person how high up they were. They said that when they came out of the turn, they had only just enough time left to flare... Keeping my face carefully neutral, I told the student to ask the instructor on duty about flat turns. I'm certain our FJC teaches about different toggle inputs. I'm also certain that not all students (myself included) remembered that when first encountering an unexpected situation. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

.....then log it. Something you wanna tell us? "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Ah, ok, thanks for clearing that up

He's on wikipedia too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Hamilton_Fish_III "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

..You jump off the high diving board, and try to flare just before hitting the water. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Do I what!? Oh.. No, I'm going to a costumed party. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom