jim_32766

That's one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time. I'm surprised Hollywood hasn't used that scenario in some comedy film. Priceless! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Lol - you just need to figure out how much dust your Scuba gear needs to collect before you sell it. Mine is gone, but a new container will soon have a new canopy! Ride the motorcycle to the DZ until you start having too much gear to make that practical. Welcome to your new addiction, and Blue skies! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Sorry to hear about the problem. As others have said, don't mess around with this, get to the doctor. Most people only experience problems with trying to equalize against increasing external pressure, not with decreasing external pressure. Having difficulty with the latter could indicate something serious enough get professional attention. Hope it all resolves favorably for you! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I understand the old exlax brownies also make for a smooth running office team. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I only did one tandem and didn't worry about logging it. Many people do log tandems, especially if they do several. You paid, so you might as well get the credit. The log book isn't anything special and comes in several varieties. The important step is getting the jump recorded and then signed. You don't sign your own jumps, you need another skydiver to sign your jumps. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Congrats on the A license! Don't feel old, I just got my A license at 50. Sounds like you have a great place to keep learning and keep jumping. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

The very nervous 1st time tandem student that asked, as the plane leveled and slowed for jump run, "Why are we stopping?." The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Congrats on the decision to try skydiving. You may have a little apprehension about leaving the plane on that first jump, but once out you will love it! Make sure to come back and tell us about your experience. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

When I hiked through the Grand Canyon our guides would entertain themselves by jumping from the walls down in to the river below. When they made the higher jumps, like 70ft or so, they always made sure to land in water just below a small waterfall. Of course the water was often deeper there, but they said the main reason for targeting that particular spot was that the aerated water made the landing softer. I never tried it so can't provide any first hand reports. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

As several have said, head to the nearest wind tunnel. You will both enjoy the experience and you could do that a few times per year, just like the scuba diving, getting good quality time with your daughter. Later if she still wants to skydive the tunnel time will pay off as she will be quite able maintain stability in freefall. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Congrats on taking the course and getting into motorcycles. A couple of years ago my wife showed some interest in bikes so I took the course with her - even though I was already licensed. I was really surprised how much she enjoyed learning to ride her own motorcycle. We ended up getting her a Kawasaki 900LT Classic as her first bike two days after she finished MSF. She took great care transitioning to it from the little MSF bikes, and has now put over 6000 miles it, plus a couple thousand miles on rented a Road King and Heritage Softail. Don't get too small of a motorcycle as your first bike. You'll be surprised at how quickly you adapt to something larger. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Welcome to skydiving and to the site. Don't feel too bad about starting later that you might have liked. Many of us on this site were late starters in skydiving. I was 49 when I did my first jump, and that's several years younger than many first jumpers here on dropzone.com. Keep us filled in on the AFF progress and have fun! Blue skies. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Congrats on that first jump and welcome to the world of skydiving! I hope you and your girlfriend can start AFF together as that would add even more to a great experience. From one pilot to another, be aware that your mental filters for landing will tend to have you flying a landing pattern that is way too large. Stay close and tight, and remember that your glide ratio is much steeper under parachute. It took me several jumps before I was able to alter my filters properly. Blue skies! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I just jumped with a new custom-made bootie suit today and had some unexpected results. No matter how I changed leg position/extension or how I extend/pointed my toes it seemed I could not get the material between my knee and my toes sufficiently tight. The material felt like it was randomly flipping to either the left or the right side of my legs, creating some very interesting steering input during the dive. It was as though someone were flying right behind me and slapping my legs back and forth. The input was quite abrupt. A straight track was also a serious challenge. As you can see from my profile I am fairly new to this sport, but I have jumped with a bootie suit before. The suit I used previously belonged to a friend and was a little small for me, but the booties were nice and tight during freefall and exhibited none of the flapping I experienced today. I’ve read many threads regarding the fit tests and they too seem to indicate the booties are probably not the right fit. I am also bringing the suit to the manufacturer later this week to have them examine the fit while I wear the suit. I am confident the fit will be corrected. My question is this – has anyone else had a similar experience, and is this to be expected of a close but less than tight fit with booties? Thanks. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Brad, welcome to the insanity! Glad to hear about your first jump, complete with cheesy title. That Skyvan rear exit is fun and allows for some interesting stunts. Let us know how your AFF progresses. As much as you liked the tandem, I predict you will like the AFF jumps even more, and it just keeps getting better. Blue skies! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Ok, you've gone and done it now, you've tasted the forbidden fruit! Welcome to the clan! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

That first totally solo jump is pretty cool and it sounds like you enjoyed every foot of it! Congratuations on the accomplishment. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

A buddy of mine had been jumping for nearly 20 years and kept asking when I might give it a try. He finally got me talked into a trip to the wind tunnel. That was so much fun my wife and I both decided to try a tandem in April 2009. As you all know, there is no where to go but AFF at that point. It's been all fun ever since. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

As you can see from my signature I am relatively new to the sport. In the little time I've been around the AFFIs I have seen them send a student off to work in the tunnel before they would allow any more jumps. The student was evidently overcome by the effort to stay stable and would lose track of altitude, not pulling on time. I think that was good advice. If the student can learn to make stability second nature, then the rest of the tasks should be more manageable. I've seen the AFFIs ground the students for wind too. I really like that strict focus on safety and hope it's equally evident at all DZs. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Welcome to skydiving! Enjoy that AFF time, absorbing everything you can. Don't be in too much of a rush at any point in your journey. As many with thousands of jumps have said to me, "this is a marathon, not a sprint". I am just barely ahead of you in the process and loving it! Blue Skies! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

What is the "dealing with cat pee" surcharge from the packers?? Probably going cost you $20 per pack job now. On the other hand, if you pack yourself, you and the canopy will soon smell the same, and you won't notice it any more. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I just watched a new Sabre2 packing video from PD. For a newbie like me this was really useful, although I am sure Nick made it look much easier than I ever will! Here is the URL. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhEHdKemr1M The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

A question off OP's topic - is a canopy that small packed like larger canopies in a D-bag, regular container, and used with a PC, or are there special procedures and methods employed? The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

You have demonstrated an unfailing grasp of the obvious! Congratulations! Might be why the "guess work" was mentioned. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

The spot was amazing! Right on target! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.