Mangiapane85

Im working my hardest to warm her up to the whole idea. I guess we'll see. She is starting to become more interested in it though, so that's good! Little side note: Today I made my reservation for IAD 1 the Sunday after next! I'm super stoked!! -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Sounds to me like you were just enjoying the scenery instead of focusing on the fundamentals of your first jump. No biggie I wouldn't think, just go back at it again. Now you will learn from your mistakes. Keep it up!!! -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

^^Well hell yeah, good for them! I can already see how addicted to this I will become. I have a lot of plans for myself once I get the grasp of things and start learning real technical maneuvers. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Well that's good to hear! So now that you know that canopy control is your weakpoint, I guess you'll be focusing primarily on that right? Keep it up! I can't wait to get encouragement from others lol. Here i am, with no jumps yet, and I'm cheering on a person with 5. So I'm sure you're like, "shutup" newbie, but I'm just lovin this stuff. I do my first aff in 3 weeks! Woot!

A certain amount of fear is not a bad thing. It keeps your limitations in check and it will eventually drive you through your plateaus and help with your confidence. A moderate amount of fear isn't your enemy. Stick in there and focus on what you're wanting to improve most. Good luck! You'll do fine.

Well? So how did it go? I'm pretty excited to hear how it goes. I was following your other thread for a bit, nice to know you're finally moving on from the tandems! -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Hello everyone, I've posted a few posts on the site, but I am just now introducing myself. I'm Josh and I live in Missouri. I will be embarking on my skydiving career in three weeks at Fly Free DZ in Festus,MO. I'm most likely going to obtain my license by starting with the IAD method of training, my DZ offers it. I have never been so excited about anything in my entire life! I've always looked for thrills, but it's time that I experience the pinnacle of adrenaline inducing activities ( for lack of a better expression ), and plan on it becoming a new way of life for me. I've been reading constantly (my fiancee is getting a little annoyed by it... oh well lol) on the terminology and methods of skydiving and incessantly watching videos (mostly aff videos on youtube) of various jumps, and I've come to realize there's never been anything that i've been so fascinated in, so I have to pursue it.! Anyways, I'm babbling here (not uncommon). I just wanted to introduce myself and say I look forward to many years on the website and getting to know some of you hopefully. This discussion forum is a gift from the heavens (literally almost)! Ciao!

Thanks for the input andy. I'm sure that once i'm up there i will feel very nervous, theres no doubt about that. But i am pretty confident I won't freeze up. I've bungee jumped on 3 different occassions as well as jumped off 80 foot cliffs. Now I know those dont really compare to being 10 thousand feet up and jumping out of a plane, but I was just trying to illustrate the fact that I would MOST LIKELY be just as comfortable doing an AFF jump than doing a tandem. Not being argumentative, I'm just saying.

Yeah, that'd definitely be ideal to mix it accordingly like that, but i'm fairly positive that I'll be able to bypass the tandem portion, because I don't think fear will be an overwhelming factor for me. AFF would definitely come in handy though, just to get the grasp of stablization alone. Question: What, if any differences are there between the ground school of AFF and IAD? i guess with iad they focus more on canopy control right? -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Good point. I'm still thinking that iad is the most cost effective way to get to the license, but u gotta pretty much figure everything out on ur own once ur up there as far as I can tell. Which I guess forces you NOT to mess up lol! -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Well hey, at least you remembered to arch and didn't just curl into a ball or something. That couldve been bad. Arch is the most important part i would imagine. So in my mind, you nailed it lol. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

I thought this thread was dead lol. I'm goin down to my dz in just a few minutes to spectate and mingle w the jumpers, instructors, etc. It's five mi utes away, so why not? Btw, peek if you read this, thank you for the input. :) To the guy that was comparing me to the embarrassing newbie (as opposed to the NOT so embarrassing ones lol), I appreciate the advice, but I have a pretty level head on my shoulders and am definitely aware of my limitations. It takes a minimum of 100 sky jumps to be even considered for base FJC I believe, so yeah, I'm in no hurry to go jump off the Khalifa tower in Dubai or anything.... Althooouugh jk As far as the IAD vs AFF, i was actually thinking of doing aff 1-3 then finishing with IAD for the rest, since they all are credited to obtaining your license. At least then i'll have a little more comfort once i start doing the progressive freefall in IAD. I'm not overly concerned about the 90 degree turns and loops, I think i understand (although when the pressures on, I could freeze up for all i know... most likely not though, im pretty confident.) the fundamentals of that. But i've been almost obssessively watching videos on the net of experienced jumpers, aff students and IAD students, and obviously theres a huge difference from the three (duh), but IAD seems like it would almost be the most scary method of deployment just based on the fact you dont the instructors right by your side acting as somewhat of a crutch. You're all alone. Im gonna talk to the coachs at the DZ today and get their input on it all. Either way, I cant freaking WAIT!! Thanks again everyone for the ongoing input/advice.

Well its not like i would totally forego the skydiving. Its two totally different things i think. It would definitely help with the "burnout" factor though. Sorry if it creates a raucous though. Whats the deal w/ basejumping though. Skydivers look down upon them or what? Just curious. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Thanks alot for the link. That place is quite a bit more expensive than the one i will be going to. 200 bux for a tandem jump seems pretty steep. I'm paying 160 for my first IAD jump and 76 bux for each jump afterwards. The only thing is is that the max alt at my dz will be 10,500 and that one goes to 13. I am considering trying out the dz down in rolla mo though. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Yes, I realize I will need a job in order to maintain a good pace of evolution in the sport. My eventual goal is to get to basejumping and terrain wingsuit flying, which will be an even more expensive hobby. I'm young though and have plenty of time. And to the poster that gave the info on plf, thank you. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Just wondering how many missouri residents frequent this site, if any. I live in Festus, very near the Festus Memorial Airport DZ and was wondering if anyone else has been to this one? Or any in missouri for that matter. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Note taken. I am definitely ahead of myself. Im just very excited to get into this thats all and am trying to learn everything i can before i go to the DZ. But i know ill learn everything i need to know from the instructors. Thanks for your patience guys and sorry for the newbie ?'s. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Right on. Yeah i had that in mind already. I am willing to do whatever it takes to totally immerse myself in this. Ive literally been dreaming about it for a while now. I can't imagine what it'll be like after i actually jump. lol Thanks again guys. edit: Peek, i was referring to calendar time. I realize there's very limited free fall time with the IAD for the first several jumps. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

I was wanting to get information on the best way to determine the proper canopy size. I was on Aerodyne's website and they had a canapy selector feature, but i wasnt able to really understand it. Obviously the size of the canopy correlates with weight and skill level, but im just interested in knowing more. And obviously yes, i am not experienced. I'm going on my first jump in less than three weeks though, so thats a plus! -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Thanks alot for the quick, knowledgeable response. Since you brought up gear, are there any RELIABLE places that offer used gear? If not, I don't wanna risk it with an unknown seller. And also, I realize this is a foolish question and I most likely couldve found the answer by searching further, but, what is PLF? I know it's something to do with the landing. But what's the acronym stand for? Thanks again. Edit: To the last poster; Thats what i was thinking as well. The DZ where im going charges 160 for the first IAD jump, which includes the 4 hours jump school. Then its only 76 bucks for every jump afterwards up until the coaching phase of the licensing process. Seems much less expensive than aff. And i definitely agree about the advantage of being able to focus on canopy control because from what ive gathered, thats the trickiest and possibly the most dangerous part of it all. And lastly, disregard the plf question. I found out what it means. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin

Hello all, I'm a new member of the site, although I have been reading it for a while now. I'm going to be starting my skydiving career in a couple or three weeks and the school I'll be going to (which conveniently enough is just a few miles from where I reside) offers an IAD course as an alternative to AFF. It doesn't get u to the license as quick as aff but it's much more cost effective, and that's my primary concern. I'm without a job as of the moment, but I have the fever to get up there for my first time, I simply can't wait anymore. So... What's everyones thoughts on iad vs aff? Pros/cons, etc. Any input would be greatly appreciated. :) oh, and great site you have here. Cheers. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin