Emmie

Hey Danielle, We will definetely try to make it, especially if there is a bigger plane. School is going great, its alot of work, but its already paying off. I really miss jumping the Bama. Hope to see you all soon!

Does anyone know if MD is going to get a bigger plane, or maybe another plane for the boogie? It seems that with all the people attending the porter would be too small a plane. Thanks Marianna

Hi, You said you were looking for something cheap right? Well, Freak'n suits make super cheap freefly pants, they are 80$, and their suits start out with 180. Just explain your dilemma with the whole shirt not fitting, and I am sure that they can custom make something for you that will fit and hold a t-shirt in. Look under gear section for their address. Hope this helps.

Hi all, I just moved to Tallahassee to start law school at FSU and was wondering if there was some kind of a skydiving club on campus. As an undergrad, my school actually helped me pay for a few of my jumps. FSU grads, I know you are out there

I'm going home this Thanksgiving, and was wondering if anyone up there is still jumping, or has everyone migrated down south already? I want to bring my rig with me, but I want to make sure that I can get to jump it while I'm there. I know jumptown has a thanksgiving boogie, are they still having one this year? Thanks for your help.

Thanks Tom, As far as I know he went with someone whose qualifications me and him strongly dissagree on. I know the person that took him is a very experienced BASE jumper, (500+ jumps) but from what I know this person is not very safe, or at least when it comes to himself he's not. I don't think anyone who will base jump drunk has any right teaching anyone. But I think there was another person with them who was also pretty experienced, and less of an asshole. Well, at least its good to know that at least it was relatively safe. I guess I just have to accept it, since thats pretty much all I can do.

I just found out my bf did his firstbase jump last night. He did jumped off a 700 ft antenna, and ended up with a couple of cuts and bruises from a hard landing. Apparently now he's hooked, which worries me alot. I don't know a whole lot about BASE, but I'm really scared that he's gonna hurt himself. I had a friend spend 6 months in bed with a broken back, and I just want to see that again. Of course I can't tell him not to do it, it would be like someone telling me not to skydive. So I guess what I want to know is how dangerous are antennas, and is 700 ft relatively safe? Like I said I don't know alot about BASE jumping, so sorry if I these are dumb questions. He does have over 400 jumps, but I am still very scared. Thanks for your help.

Hi, I'm going through the exact same thing right now, living in Massachussetts, and trying to find a job in Florida for when I move there. I found that if you send a cover letter with your resume, and mention somehow that you are going to be in the area to let them know that they don't necessarily have to pay for relocation helps. Good luck.

I am moving at the end of may. I am planning on driving there with with my boyfriend, don't have enough money for movers. So I take it Pensacola is pretty much populated by rednecks, that doesn't majke me too happy, since i found out there might be a possibility of me getting a place on the other side of the border in Alabama. but the beaches shouldn't be that bad I hope.

HI, I'm escaping the Northeast and moving to Pensacola/gulf shores area. I've visited florida many times, but I think that there's a big difference from going on vacation to actually living there. I would really appreciate any advice from people that have relocated there. Is there something that I should be especially concearned about? (like the giant flying cockroaches). I found an apartment for 400$ , and its right on the beach. Sounds too good to be true. I was wondering if this is normal, since prices like that are unheared of up here. This is my first major move, so I am trying to find out all I can before I finally leave. Thanks for all of your help.

Is it me, or is this like the longest winter we ever had? As much as I hate the cold I am contemplating making it out to Orange and making a jump just to remind myself what skydiving feels like.

HI, I myself haven't had the pleasure of riding on he greyhound, but my boyfriend just did, and from what I hered it was a total nighmare, and he can pretty tolerate anything! The bus had a million stops, so the travel time was forever, then they almost lost his bags, it was filled with a buch of low life people, and it pretty much sucked. He ended up taking the amtrack back home, and it was cheaper, and also much better than the bus.

Hey Ian, How are you and Katie doing. Does this meen that its final that BP is going to become a tandem only DZ? That makes me so sad, I am going to miss everyone. Guess I'll either have to drive to Orange for an hour and a half, or just migrate to SNE. Marianna

Thanks for the advice. As mind boggling as it may seem, I never had the need to disatach my main from my rig, so I guess its a skill that I am just going to need to learn. I'll make sure that I get more experienced friends to superwise me when I'm doing it.

Hi, I just got a new canopy, and I'm going away next week, so I need to figure out how to attach it to the container so I can jump. Is this something that I can do myself, or is it absolutely necessary for a rigger to do this. If not, then how do you do it? Thanks for all your help.

Do not get Cordura! I have it on my wings, and it is a bitch to get the pilot chute in there. The wings BOC is short and fat, so you have to fold the pilot chute a couple of times to fit it in, and I found that it is either incredibly difficult to fit it into the boc, or else you get it in and find a couple of minutes that half the pilot chute is sticking out.

I've been jumping a hornet 170 for close to a year now, and its time to downsize. I am considering trading it in for a Spectre 150. Does this sound like a good plan? I am underloading the 170, and its not a big deal untill it gets a little windy and I end up being holding into the wind for what feels like hours, and am still moving backwards. I found the hornet to be more responsive to toggle pressure than other canopies its size (like every sabre I jumped). Will I get that with a Spectre? Also as a 7 cell, does the performance go down? I am not looking to hook it in or anything, but I thought that the glide ratio decreases with 7 cells. I would totally appreciate any comments on this, since I don't have that much experience with different canopies. Thanks

Hi, First thing I am going to tell you is to not get discouraged by this. Spinning is probably one of the biggest problems in AFF. Trust me! It took me about 15 jumps and a trip to the tunnel to get rid of this problem. I was one bad AFF student. So first of all, try to relax when you are up there. Relaxing will mold your body into a natural arch. Also, pay attention to your legs, chances are that you are unconciously dropping one knee lower than the other, and thats causing the spin. Or you could be doing the same thing with one of your arms. On your next jump if you do start spinning out of control, relax, and then make a hard arch. Don't rely on your jm to stop the spin for you, try to conciously do it yourself. Chances are if its happening as soon as your out of the plane, you do have some time to fix whatever the problem is. One last thing, maybe on your next jump, instead of doing turns you should work on just staying stable. If you are able to hold heading, then try making slow 90 degree turns. Best thing would be to talk to your jm. Since he's the one jumping with you, he can see what you are doing wrong, and work on fixing it. Good luck, and don't get discouraged, there is hope

Well, I bought a Canon Rebel 2000, oggled at it, then wrapped it up and then sent it away to my boyfiend. One of the hardest things I had to do since I wanted a camera almost as badly as he did. So thanks for everyone's help. When I get one for myself, I'll go for a rebel as well, but for now, no camera for me

Just sitting in a dusty room that had a couple of windows in it. Does that count as direct sun?

So I was being lazy and instead of packing up my main I just left it for the rigger to pack, since my rig was due for a repack. I threw the whole thing into the gear room, and assumed that it wouldn't be there for more than a couple of days. I just found out that my canopy was laying out there for a month. Can a canopy be damaged from just being out of the container in a heated room? I am just really pissed about this, (even though it is partially my own fault for just throwing it into a corner and hoping that my rigger wouldn't just forget about it).

I decided to hold off buying a camera for mysellf untill next year. The stills cam is going to be a christmas present for my boyfriend, who has alot more jumps than me. Thanks everyone for clarifying the difference for me. I will go for a 35mm camera.

I'm in the process of buying a stills camera. I know most people recommended the Rebel 2000. I also read a post where someone suggested an APS camera as an alternative. Are there advantages to an APS besides the smaller size and the price? Also, I don't know a whole lot about phototgraphy, so what are the advantages of an SLR when it comes to freefall photography, if any Is anyone familiar with the Canon ELPH? Thanks for your help.

Ok, this might be a really dumb question, but all the videotographers I know are out in sunny Florida, and I need some advice. I want to start jumping with a camera. I can't afford a video camera right now, so I decided to get a stills camera first. Before I get would really appreciate if you guys could help me out with a couple of questions. What should I look for when buying a camera? Does it have to be digital, and what brands do you guys recommend? Also, do I need to get a camera helmet, or can I attach it to a regular bonehead? What other equipment would I need to buy with the camera? Also, is this a good idea? Most people I know fly with a video, not a stills camera. Sorry to ask so many questions, but I really don't know where to start with this. Thanks for your help.

Hi Tom Thank you for posting that article. I completely agree with you. I don't beleive in throwing your life away over impressing someone. Its unfortunate that some women would do something that could be potentially deadly, for all the wrong reasons. That is not by any means to say that women should not BASE jump, because they are just as entitled to do it as men are, but doing it to impress some asshole is just wrong. If you do it, then you should do it for yourself, and yourself only, because ultimately it is your life that is at stake, and no one else's. And that also goes for the men. Sometimes I think that men its more of a matter of competition, but altimately it is done for the same reasons as with women, and that is in order to impress others. I have been very lucky to encounter people whose main concearn was my safety and not getting into my pants, and I am a better skydiver now because of it. BASE jumping should be the same. As I see it Skydiving and BASE jumping is about beeing free and finding your self, thus when you are doing it for someone else all the freedom is gone, so whats the point?