Donna

Congratulations, Kelly!! Sounds like you are doing great! Scary on that hard pull. Glad it worked out good! You sound like a natural!

Finally!! I'm back in the air! I was not posting a quota of my weekend until it had a jump in it! Unfortunately I was too nervous Friday night and too tired Saturday night after my big day so my first number is a 0. Anyway, after 8 months, 15 days and 23 hours since my last jump I finally got my knees in the breeze again! It was so great and I have been floating around ever since!

Just curious. What kind of rigs were used in both these incidents? Skies, D

Like what Kris said, only non-camera flyers use them sometimes, too. My husband got them on his new Bev suit because he is big and falls like a rock. They help slow his fall rate. They are nice because you don't have to use them. They are removable. He seems to like them and think they help. Skies, D

I still have one of the old crappy 28,000 k ones. The phone lines around here can't get more than that anyway. Hopefully cable will get here soon. Skies, D

Congratulations and belated Happy Birthday, Herv!! Nice write up! Thanks for sharing it with us!! I enjoyed reading it. We had to do our hop & pop right after AFF level VII. I was pretty nervous doing it but it went pretty good and it ended up being my first stand up landing! Skies, D

It's probably just Jerry Kdink memorizing your face.

Just forget spell check. We don't care how you spell! Skies, D

You might have cracked your tailbone. I did that on my second tandem. Ouch!! Couldn't sit down for 3 weeks. Hope you feel better soon! Skies, D

Great idea! I agree! Go, Michele!! Skies, D

My rig doesn't have a name but my main does.... Myra... named after my late daughter's favorite doll. I know she'll bring me good luck. I plan on naming my reserve but I'm not sure I'm keeping this one yet so I'm waiting a bit. I always name my cars, too.... always female names so I know I can rely on them... current one is Emmy. Skies, D

Congratulations!!!!!! I'm so happy for you! Sounds like you did a great job!! Remember to keep updating us on your jumps! Skies, D

Awww, come on, Mike. Surely you could have gotten pictures or made some diagrams and shared them through links. j/k Thanks. It was actually a good explanation and as soon as I get up from the computer I am going to go put my rig on and try it out. Thanks! Skies, D

Hey Rhonda66! Ya, the weather sucked here this weekend. Bernie drove me crazy watching the weather channel every 5 minutes to see if the forecast or radar had changed. He did head up to Jumptown late this afternoon when he heard it had cleared a bit and they were putting loads up. He's not home yet so I guess he got to jump! My new rig has already had a repack without ever being jumped so I know the feeling. We have a ton of other stuff we've had to do on weekends and this weekend was empty so figures the weather was crummy! We won't be around next weekend. We have a wedding on Saturday and then going to NH on Sunday but Bernie may try to get a jump in at Lebanon since it's only 5 minutes from where we will be. He's just a little nervous about all the trees and small landing area (though you didn't hear that from me!) And you don't have to tell me how boring it is sitting around a DZ when you aren't jumping! lol Thankfully that is almost over! Hope to see you up there soon! We are owed good weather!! Skies, D

Have fun, you two!!!!! I know you've been waiting a long time for this! Skies, D

Oh, Michele!! That is so great! I was so excited when I saw your post listed and I was on the edge of my seat reading it. You are a terrific writer. I felt I was right there with you. I am SO happy for you and very proud of you. It took a lot of courage to work through your fears and get out there and jump. You did it!! Congrats!! Girls kick ass! Please keep writing about your jumps. We all look forward to reading about them and you will be glad you did and will love looking back reading them someday. I have the feeling you will go far! Skies, D

I always did best when I tried to be completely relaxed. When I'd get tense I'd buffet and that would make me more nervous and I'd tense up even more and buffet even more.... vicious circle. I know this sounds corny but I would think... the wind is my friend... and I'd say that to myself and relax and give myself up to it and it helped a lot. You might want to try toe taps to check the position of your legs. Ask your instructors about it. On the S/L thing, we have both S/L and AFF at our DZ and they both make skydivers out of people. I think it's a personal preference and both have their pros and cons. I went AFF but sometimes I wish I had had the 'balls' to go S/L. I often wished they combined the 2 programs in some way. Some places are doing programs like that (you do a tandem or two, then S/L or IAD for a few then AFF type jumps with usually 1 instructor) and they sound great to me. Anyway, just have fun out there! Good luck! Skies, D

I thought of another thing. Have you been eating and drinking enough fluids before you go on your jump? Especially in the heat, people can get dehydrated waiting to jump and that can cause you to feel sick. Drink plenty of water and don't go on an empty stomach. At least have some crackers or something. Skies, D

Your problem might be the tandem harness. I have heard cases where people have felt nauseous and faint in them. They seem to decrease circulation in some places and I know they are uncomfortable. Are you doing a tandem type AFP course? If so, how many more tandems in it? One? You might want to talk to your instructors about it. They might be able to loosen up leg straps etc. a bit after you are under canopy or just move onto an AFF type jump where you have your own harness. Good luck and let us know how you make out! Skies, D

That's what I was guessing but wouldn't it be hard to get it out from underneath there? Skies, D

Well I'll be hoping you have nice 5-8 MPH winds then! Skies, D

I agree with that, too. I'm always telling my husband... I can't go yet. I haven't finished reading all the posts and I won't know which ones I didn't get to if I leave now!

What's the mud flap? Skies, D

Thanks, PT!! I've been leaning towards the Bonehead Mindwarp but wish they hadn't just changed the design to an outside audible altimeter. Anyone know of any others that have the pocket for them on the inside? Skies, D

Good luck tomorrow, Viking!! I'll be thinking of you! Hope you have better luck with the weather than us! Skies, D