Donna

I have both my first tandem and my first AFF jump stories on my page (plus every other jump I've done so far

Well I'm a mom and I feel you are being unfair to Viking. From the e-mails I've shared with him and the posts I've seen him write I think he's a pretty darn nice kid. He seems VERY family oriented to me. Way more than most kids I know. IMO he goes above and beyond what most kids would do in taking care of his grandfather and he seems to do it because he truly cares not because he is being made to. Ok. So it didn't come across good that he used this term but I agree with Zennie that he was just venting. I know I thought of my mother that way many times and I'm sure the thought crosses my kids' minds sometimes and I have thought a few things about my kids sometimes! It's only human nature. I know he had been waiting to jump again and had this day picked out and was waiting for it to arrive only to have his plans dashed. I bet Viking was letting out his frustration here so that he WOULD do as his mom asked with a smile

You didn't happen to go to Couch Freaks by any chance, did you Spectre? ;o) Skies, D

Good point! There was a very good article a few months ago in Skydiving magazine addresssing this very issue. Some very experienced people at my dz were even surprised by some of the info in there. They brought a copy to the dz and are always having new jumpers read it before ordering gear. Brandon - Good luck with your canopy. Can I ask what Laura is loading hers at? I agree with some of the points Merrick was stating but like him I agree it's your choice so I won't say any more. I think canopy size is a very individual choice. I had the opposite problem.... lots of people (and manufacturers) telling me I should have gone smaller. My triathlon is loaded at .85. It's what I'm comfortable with. My husband loads his at 1.1 and has been very happy with it. I think that the area your from has some bearing on what people eventually choose, too. Our area is a bit more conservative than others. Safe landings! Skies, D

I wouldn't say he was holding his own on wreck either! I'd say he was laughed off and dismissed because he had no real facts and everyone there felt the same as you all do here..... that he is just spreading unsubstantiated rumors in poor taste. Skies, D

LMAO Zennie!! I love it! Skies, D

Congratulations, Pyke!!!!

And most whuffos don't think skydiving is worth the risk! Sheesh!! Attention all you pond swoopers! DBTech has decided your sport is not worth the risk so it has been cancelled. Why don't you let each person decide for themselves, huh? Skies, D

Congratulations, Michele!! Way to go! I agree with the others. Please keep writing your stories. I love reading them! Skies, D

Congratulations, Dick!! I'm so excited for you! Just read the updates on your page and man you have guts! I'm glad you hung in there and hope you have many more great jumps! Woooooohooooooo!

Hey Marc!!! Happy Birthday!! Have a great one!! Skies, D

Well Friday afternoon I'm hoping that we don't get the thunderstorms I've heard mentioned and that the "breezy" in the forecast isn't TOO breezy so I can get a jump or two in. Saturday morning we have our lake club end of the year party with swimming races and dive contests and bbq chicken then we are getting all decked out and heading off to the Jimmy Buffett concert at Great Woods to drink lots of margaritas and party the night away. Sunday I'm hoping I'm not too hung over to get a bunch of jumps in before we head off to the pig roast and guiness keg fest at our S&TA's farm. Sleeping over there in a tent and hoping I can manage to get up Monday and make it back to the dz to make some more jumps!

Help! When I try to check my messages I get this note: Oops, there was a problem! Invalid/Expired session. Please contact support and reference ID: 7662. Click Here to go back to your Inbox What does this mean and how do I fix it? Skies, D

Well unless you did all your student training there you aren't allowed to jump there any more anyway. They don't want fun jumpers. They are just a tandem mill. They shouldn't even be called a dropzone. Skies, D

I'm confused about that. What kind of system has a cutaway handle on the left and reserve handle on the right? Very sorry to hear about your losses. Skies, D

My husband's going to hate you, Justin! What a great story!! I always wanted to get whisked away on an unknown trip at the last minute with all details taken care of!! Jenn's a lucky girl! Skies, D

I learned at an older, more conservative dz. We had the typical 7 levels of AFF. We used big F111 canopies, either a PD340(over 200 lbs), a Raider220 (if you were under 130 lbs.) or a manta 288 for most people. When I took the course last year we had hip mounted ripcords. This past winter they switched over to BOC ripcords. They decided they wanted you to learn the same position you would later be using but still worried about unstable student pulls with a BOC throw out. We also have S/L so that may have entered into their thinking too. I really like the sound of all the levels in your AFP program. It seems like you get to work on a lot of stuff and get a nice base down. With more levels you get more chance to work on what you've learned. I like the idea of throw out right away because then you don't have to deal with the transition. I was very nervous about my first throw out but it went great. While on student gear I did once pull on my back and my canopy still opened fine. I had riser burn across my arms and face but was very glad I ended up with a good canopy. I'm not sure what would have happened there if I had had a throw out. I liked jumping the manta. All my landings were very gentle even when I miscalculated my flare. Now I jump a Triathlon 190 which is still quite conservative considering it's underloaded (1 : .85) Initially I was flaring ok and the landings were soft. Then last weekend I flared too late and not enough and I got slammed. I'm still hurting from it and I'm very glad I was not on anything smaller. I know it was my mistake but I'd rather make them on something a bit forgiving. I've heard the Northeast is on the old way, more conservative side. We had a canopy control class with Nancy LaRiviere from Jumpshack which was wonderful and she is on the bigger is better side, too. I agree with most of the way I've been taught but like Zennie, I have nothing to really compare it against. I think I would have liked to do an AFP type program..... but without the smaller canopies! Skies, D

Yup!! It worked fine!! Great job, Justin!! Nice site. Loved the pictures! Skies, D

Woooooooooohoooooooo!! Congratulations, Larry!! Way to go!! Have fun jumping!! Skies, D

Congratulations!! It's great, isn't it?? Have fun on level II and let us know how it goes! Skies, D

You must have a BIG suitcase!!!

Well I hope you guys help Justin out because I want to see his page! I hate internet explore and only use netscape 4.7 and it won't work for me. Good Luck, Justin! Skies, D

Scary story!! Glad you weren't hurt any worse. Take care of yourself and get better soon! Skies, D

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH Albatross!! Don't say that!! That's what my husband has been saying to me for the past week ever since I fucked up and didn't flare good last weekend! Every time he walks by.... "Flare! Damn it!!" Guess I scared him. Michele - Great job on your jumps and water training! Glad you got that tree jump over with!

I was never scared to land until after my last jump last weekend. Ouch!!! If we didn't have such a thick sandy landing area I'd be broken right now. (well I think my butt may be broken anyway!) I should be heading out to the dz right now but I keep putting it off because my hubby went golfing this morning instead and I'm really nervous about my next landing so I may wait until tomorrow when we can go together... not that he's going to be able to help my landing... just drive me to the hospital I guess! How do you guys get the courage to try again after biffing it in? Skies, D