Ducky

part 3!!!! and so it goes....

UPDATE!!!! I did the search for skydiving and it appears "geronimo" has 2 owners! lol check out this ad... its identical just totally different photo.

To attempt to understand or explain is the sad part here. Within a week a team of psychologist will have a list of "warning signs" that will send parents near and far into a panic. It happens everytime, Columbine anyone??? We all seem to forget that kids are living breathing self operating creatures and sometimes just sometimes parents cannot do it all. kwak

If luck is on my side I will be at Gold Coast for the Mardi Gras Boogie in Feb. It'll be my first boogie with a fresh new A license, not even sure I'll jump cuz I have no idea what to expect. I'm affraid it might be a little overwhelming for a newbie like myself. In any event I will be in town and will definately stop by to check out the DZ. Its Funny I was born very close to there and moved away when I was 9. I never had a clue the place existed until recently. Kwak

No, the source would be neither, though it would be a blood relative, who btw can do any type of custom hat you want.

How about hats???????? I have a definate source for hats. We could get the Dz.com logo on the front and if we wanted customized with names on the back. High quality wool hats and different color combos available depending on demand. The hats could be ready to ship to us individually in a few weeks. $20 seems like the initial cost but if demand is high that may go down. Email or post here if interested, the source can take Visa and Mastercard. Kwak

This may seem elementary, but is this your first attempt at burning a CD? If you do not close or end the cd properly it will only be recognized by certain types of players. There should be an option to "Finalize" the CD. Try that. Kwak

Elevation by U2, saw it on a Tandem video and it plays in my head everytime i even think of jumping. Kwak

Hehee, The day I took my FJC was also my first trip to a DZ. The clss started at like 7am so no one was jumping. We were in a room with no windows... So we get out for break and I walk to the car for a smoke. I hear some flapping/popping noise and I look up. Just above me and to my right Is some guy face to earth with chute open, what appears to be 50ft from the treetops beside the landing area. I scream "oh F&%K he's gonna die!!!!!". The other students turn in time to see the guy nearly take the paint off the roof of a neighboring car with his toes.. they give a complimentary "oh Sh#@t!!!!!!!!!!!!". The guys swoops what seems like a mile and touches down what seems like the most graceful landing I have ever seen. The next 11 guys all land nice n smooth. We were all like..."did he mean to do that or was it a nice recovery?" Ironically, the same guy ends up being my AFF instructor a few hours later. So I ask him about it. He says "oh yeah man it was an amazing thing that i recovered, i though i was a goner". I bit of course and am thinking ok wait this guy is gonna jump with me and get me back safely???? Luckily when we were back outside someone explained it to me. kwak

That's it!! Man that plane get's around! Where is it based out of??

Oh man I am so trying to get to that point. I wanna quit so bad. I'm trying to convince myself its a jumpticket a week worth if not more that I keep burning up. Any advice? kwak

hmmm? Not knowing much about anything, being a newbie that is... Is it possible this is the same "Frankenotter" I jumped out of for my Aff 4 and 5 in early December at ASC in GA???? The very same day I take my mom to the DZ for the first time and she makes the comment that the only thing that would bother her is seeing the plane we jump out of. So the whole way there I'm assuring her its not that bad, a decent looking plane actually... (expecting the usual King Air) and as we pull in this "Frankenotter" rounds the corner of the hangar! She was like "what the hell is that, somebody's science project?" kwak

IMPORTANT NOTICE Police warn all male clubbers, partygoers and unsuspecting pub regulars to be more alert and cautious when accepting a drink offer from a woman. There is a date rape drug going around called "beer" and it appears in liquid form. The drug is being used by female sexual predators at parties to persuade male victims to have sex with them. "Beer" is available virtually anywhere. All a woman has to do is persuade a guy to consume a few units of "beer" and simply ask him home for no-strings-attached sex. Men are rendered helpless against such attacks. After several "beers" men will often succumb to performing sex acts on horrific looking women who they would never normally be attracted to. Men often wake up after having "beer" with only hazy memories of what happened to them the night before -- just a vague feeling that something bad occurred. At other times these unfortunate men might be conned into a familiar scam known as "a relationship" --> apparently men are easier victims for this scam after the "beer" has been administered and they have already been sexually attacked. Forward this alert to every male you know.......... However, if you fall victim to this insidious drug and the predatory women administering it, there are male support groups where you can discuss the details of your shocking encounter in an open manner with a bunch of similarly affected victims. For your nearest support group, look up "Taverns" in the yellow pages. Kwak

Thanx Guys, I guessed wrong on the weather :( We now have 4+ inches of snow on the ground in GA! Oh well. I am itching to jump in a bad way, its been too long. I think I may follow some of the advice and redo #5. My level 5 went great with no flaws, I pulled of 3 360 rotations and redocks, but I would feel more comfy doing it again. The solo exit on #6 has me a little intimidated. If this weather persist I will be able to afford doing 5,6,7 in one day. I plan on staying much more current once I move off of student jumps. I was hoping to have my A license by February, I'm heading to Mardi Gras and I heard something about a boogie at a DZ down that way? Like I said thanks again, the people of DZ.com are always great!. Chris

Just curiuos what the policys are at your home DZ regarding AFF courses. I am fast approaching 30 days since my last jump (level 5) and am worried the weather, both cold and possible snow in the forecast might push me past 30 days. I have been glued to the weather channel trying to figure it out. I have heard 2 different things from my DZ, one person says take a refersher course to review safety etc, another says you have to repeat the previous level. Grrr wish they could get their shit straight. Any help?? Kwak

Insurance???? Oh shit!! Maybe that's why my stepdad seems so supportive!! Its all a scam. I bet the guy took out a policy on me. Oh weel I guess the 'rents will retire nicely. kwak

Wow, Sitting here reading all this, you guys have summed it up for me piece by piece yet I feel compelled to put it in order from my standpoint. Since I began my very new and brief skydiving career I have yet to meet a person who discouraged me. If they attempted and I overlooked the attempt it was simply because they were not someone I cared about. I have heard plenty of “Whuffos” and a few “When ya gonna take me?” As for my parents (mother and step-father) I have mixed reviews. From the start I was extremely concerned about how my Mom would handle it all seeing as how I am her “baby” of four kids and all. I never thought twice about my stepdad figured he might roll his eyes a bit and at worst worry if I was gonna sell my share of our boat. Minutes after my first jump I called them to let them know I had survived and all was well, thinking at least I could let their worried minds settle for a bit. Not much was said about it from them, much was said by me. I talked about it non-stop and still do quite a bit. I was always a bit cautious around my mom though, tried to actually give her the impression that it was just a phase. I figured she might be able to deal with better that way. All the while knowing I had decided 30 seconds into my first freefall that this was much more than a phase. I met the woman of my dreams that day, in the sky of course, I plan on this being a lengthy affair ;-} For my 4th and 5th AFF jump I convinced my mom to go to the DZ with me. She didn’t seem to resistant, but I wanted her to go for several reasons: 1.I hoped to set her mind at ease a bit, not seeking full support, but perhaps piece of mind that she wasn’t sitting at home near tears worrying about her “baby” every time she knew I was going to jump. I conceived that seeing how thorough the instructors were with safety issues and such, seeing dozens of jumps and landings etc. might reduce the danger factor a bit. 2. Its hard to describe, it was kinda like when I was a kid and was the smallest kid my age by 60 lbs and decided that Ice Hockey was the sport for me. I knew that my mom’s heart was full of absolute terror for the first 50 games I played. It took a whole season, a championship, a scoring title and zero trips to the emergency room before she ever took a breath inside an ice arena. When she did take that breath, when she rounded that corner I saw it in her eyes, she took an interest, she knew that I truly loved the game she never at any point Discouraged me yet she never became a cheerleader either. I can recall the first time she actually stayed to watch a practice of mine for no reason other than she wanted to, that day shines brighter than any game or goal. All this said (and a lot it is sorry )… During that hour and half drive to the DZ we discuss nothing but skydiving, she actually asked questions. I was kinda bewildered at first. She then proceeds to convince me that the day I went for my first jump she really was not worried. My stepfather on the other hand had asked about me every 10 minutes she said he couldn’t even eat his lunch. Apparently a family friend who used to skydive had dropped by coincidentally that afternoon and once he learned what was up reassured my mom and teased my step-dad, what a great guy/asshole. So anyways… the rest of Mom’s trip to the DZ took on a new tone, she explained that compared to my Ice Hockey, Motocross, Crothcrocket, Wakeboarding, and night time solo boat outings, that perhaps skydiving was not quite so bad. She had better things to worry about i.e. If I would ever get married and produce a few extra tricycle motors for grandma’s stable? lol. As I look forward to the coming weekend and jumps 6 and 7!!! Yippe Graduation! (yes I know>> Beer!!) I now have a Mom who lives with it, and a stepdad who has made a full 180. The man will not let you in the front door of the house unless you agree to sit and watch my video. He actually asked my for a nice framed blowup of one of my photos for his desk. The other night we sat and talked he kept asking my about skydiving and I swear within an hour he had me convinced I should consider a career in the sport in some way. He kept preaching about $$$ not meaning shit and how he has never seen me so passionate about anything w/o breast! and chasing my dreams. I’ll give the man credit he has always told me to “pursue happiness, not wealth or holyiness” back to Marshman though I assure you I did not have this type of relationship with my parents when I was your age. I’m not an old fart 26 going on 18 most days. It could have been my job at the time, its tough to brag about your son being a DJ in a strip club.. yikes!! Things are different now though and we are all better people for it. I enjoyed the most incredible Christmas this year, no jump tickets, no skydiving junk and not much of anything amazing wrapped under the tree. Just a peace with my family, and a peace within right next to the fire lit in the sky that September day. And if anyone made it this far through this ridiculous ramble, ya gotta mail me or something. I wanna know who else has no life and time to kill! Kwak

Short sweet and simple.... The only thing we as humans have the power to change in the world in which we live is ourselves. Change in all forms comes from within. Look in the mirror and get to work. I' not saying your a bad paerson or that there is anything wrong with you. You alone know the answers. Iam by no means making a recomendation on your drug use, career choices, family life or otherwise only your happiness. Good Luck, Chris

My2cents, Keep in mind my legal expertise is only extended to what i have learned behind bars!!! I had a good friend who managed a Blockbuster Video for a long time, she used to erase my late charges for me. She was working there when the lawsuit you referenced occurred and a judgement was handed down. The suit was regarding their policy for late fees. They used to charge so much for each day the movie was late, which could add up to ridiculous amounts. The courts ruled this was improper that they could charge more in late fees for say a 4 day period than it would cost to rent the same video for the same time period. As I recall blockbuster agreed to change their policies AND reimburse members for wrongly collected late fees. Their method of refund was to credit accounts of members only after they filed a complaint regarding specific charges. leaving the footwork up to the people who were ripped off! I have had a similar experience at another big chain video store, in my instance the consequences were worse. I had an unsecured membership and had moved since opening it. My brother rented some movies, which he swears to this day he returned. The store says they were never returned and charged my $265. Because they had no credit card on file for me and no current address, the claim went to collections and eventually on my credit report all without me knowing. I go to apply for an apartment one day and they mentioned I had a very recent collection on my report. So many phone calls later I discovered from who and why. I paid it immediately with much argument, but I was nearly homeless and needed a home (poor me). Anyways to this day that damn thing is still on my credit even though they agreed to remove it if I paid in full. The moral??? I dunno, but good luck Zennie had the best advice I believe so good luck and in the words of Bono “keep fuckin up the mainstream”. Chris

I'd love to have a lok when your done! Here are some links that i found quite helpful and good reading. http://www.chutinggallery.com/services/safety/index.htm Good Luck! Chris

Wow that sounds a comprehensive course that i'd love to sit in on! Having only 5 jumps (6n7 this weekend!!) I feel there are alot of thing i wanna know more about. Many of my questions will be aswered in the very near future, but I can see where gaps in knowledge will form. Thanks Chris

My 2 cents.. I'll confirm that 7 level AFF is alive and well in GA. I am a current student of the program at ASC, 2 Jumps Left Yeeha!!!!!! I plan to do a HopnPop for my 8th and some coach jumps immediatley following. I may be changing DZs though, to Monroe. I am VERY happy with ASC, but its 1.5 hours away vs. Monroe at 30 minutes. I have made a post or 2 in this forum regarding my AFF jumps if anyone is interested in having a look. Kwak

Well my 2 cents, As a current AFF student I can alos agree with what the others have said. I know quite a few people i would like to introduce this great sport to. Of those people I have different ideas on what would be best for each of them. i must admit very few would i recomend AFF to. It's not that i think I am better than them and only I can handle the AFF or that I regret it being my choice for my first jump and method of learning. I just personally think that AFF is most definately not for everyone. If you have the drive and commitment to rewally absorb the info thrown at you and are willing to do alot on your own then AFF is great. I would defiantely recomend it if you have the ability to do the progression in a short amount of time, say 2 or 3 weekends. I do not recomend stretching it out over a great length of time. All this said, keep in mind I'm just a student myself and have never done a tandem jump. Good Luck in whatever you choose. Chris

Thanks, for your help. I am still a little suprised that the AFF progression varies from place to place. I would think that it would be a little more standardized. I guess all the programs have good coverage of the basics though. Another question I have is about Riser Turns and Spotting: My paperwork (which may be a lil outdated from the DZ) mentions that these are taught starting in level 4 though, I have not had an instructor mention word one about them. From everything I have observed in my plane rides it seems that spotting is left up to the pilot. Just thought i would mention that our AFF is only 7 levels though they strongly recomend/require that your 8th jump be a hop n pop at 3500 ft. I'm somehow not looking forward to that. Thanks agian for your help, Chris

Just a quick question for AFF students or anyone in the know: What do the 6th and 7th jumps consist if (diveflow) at your DZ?? On my 6th ia am expected to do a backloop and regain control, spot the DZ by 7000ft and track for 3 seconds. My 7th is supposed to be: Solo exit, backloop, 360 right, 360 left, tracking for 3 seconds, another trach if time permits and of course BUY BEER! lol anyways just curious