shattenjager

Don't ask here, only you know how you feel comfortable with the size you are flying. My experience is this: I'm about 190 lbs exit weight, 3 jumps with Nav 285, 6 with Nav 260, 10 with Nav 240, 3 with Nav 220, 6 with Spectre 230 that flies way different from the Navigator, and as you might know, size doesn't' matter, wing loading matters as long with the specific canopy design, my canopy school instructor told me to put 10 jumps on this Spectre 230 then try the 210 for about 10 jumps. I hope that this will give you an idea of my progrssion. Only who knows you and know how you fly, can tell you something useful. For me, there was no difference from 240 to 220 but a HUGE difference from the Nav 220 to the Spectre 230, in a good way. The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

I'm 40 too, I normally wear an analog watch but I prefer the digital altimeter, especially for the landing pattern. I just use the right tool that fits my needs! However I found both analog and digital giving me the same level of awareness. The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

I hope it won't apply to you!! I'd rather spend time alone and practice to increase my awareness and canopy piloting than spend a lot of money on mandatory coach. Not that coach is not useful, if I'd have money I'd have my own personal coach, DZ and plane to improve, like the Crown Prince of Dubai, lucky him!!! The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

That's totally bullshit, skydiving is already expensive and if you keep jumping with the "test scare" you will never enjoy jumping. If I were a coach I'd jump for free with students to keep the cost low, this is a bad way to promote the sport. I never enjoy skydiving until I did my first solo. Guess why many of my friends they don't want to come with me and try? Fear? NAH! MONEY! The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

Sure! :) If I may suggest, get there even before they open, you want to be the first there, sooner you jump, better wind conditions you will find, later in the morning the wind will get crazy! GOOD LUCK! I won't be there this time, I go to Perris because they have a canopy for rent that I need to use for my progression, I hope to see you in Elsinore soon. Have fun! The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

I used my new VISO2 on my canopy control school, it was my 32 jump, I wasn't sure how it would have felt, well, I just loved it! Also during canopy flight was very useful and precise, with a glimpse I was able to see my altitude, the analog below 1000 ft is not easy to read. That also helped me to be visual aware of my altitude, comparing the size of the ground objects and link them to what I see on my alti, now I can better understand how high I am without looking the instrument. For the audible under canopy I found it very useful, I know where I am without moving my eyes from the pattern and that keeps more focused on scanning for canopies than read the altitude. But what works for me doesn't mean it works for you, we are all different, so I think instructors should talk to their students to understand how comfortable they feel on landing, etc. There are excellent students born to fly, others are just less gifted, like in any activities, I don't like rules, but I am a super safe/conservative athlete, I know when I'm ready to progress and when I'm not, that's why I'm still alive. But again, not everybody has the same level of awareness. I think that the audible is a good backup and learning tool. I have only 37 jumps and yet sometime I forget how I felt when I was a student, go figure when you have hundreds or thousand jumps! I needed more freefall training, but I was good under canopy, some friend of mine where born freeflyers but they better fly a paraglider! :-) We are ALL DIFFERENT! That to me is a very important thing to remember! The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

Really cool!! Very interesting how much close you got from the feelings we had as students!! Keep going please! The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

I just got off from student status last month, I can understand what do you feel. I started the AFF back in 2005, they made me repeat level 1 and 2 THREE times, level 3 TWO times then I gave up. Then I wanted to do it again, so I went trough all levels, sometime I felt I wasn't that great, and of course I wasn't, but be great is not your priority, your safety is your priority. What the instructors told me is that they don't expect you to be a champion but to know how to recover from a de arched fall, back to earth position, spinning, etc, in other words to be able to stay safe and correct otherwise potentially dangerous situations. More I jump, more I learn how much I DON'T KNOW

I think it would be a good idea to create a new section by geographical location so we can organize groups of skydivers, tandem, etc and carpool, since usually, at least here in California, all the DZ's are far from main cities. I'm new to the sport and I felt that meet people with same passion even outside the DZ it would be a good way to make friends and share experiences. What do you think? The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

Thank you!! I hope to see you there too, you know I have tons of questions ready!! The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

Ah, I know!! This weekend forced rest!! I'm not going to move! But the next weekends, (not the 23-25, I will be in San Diego for drill weekend) PM me if you want to carpool! The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

Congratulations!! I hope to see you around Elsinore or Perris! The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

Thank you! Yes Elsinore is a very nice place, I'm sure I will make tons of friends there! :) The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

Awesome!! I go almost every weekend to Elsinore, I've been to Perris just for tunnel time but I want to try there too. Let's stay in touch! The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

Hello everyone, just got my A license at Elsinore last week and I'm really excited to start to learn and try more new things in skydiving! I'd like to meet up with people from Los Angeles area to share the commute and the fun! Contact me if you want, let's have fun together. The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

I did my first AFF jumps back in 2005-6, so I can only talk for that period, I have no idea how it is now. My bad experience was with a very rude instructor, a guy who used to jump with short camo pants, don't know the name, before to send me to the plane, he got pissed because I didn't do a safety check to my rig(never instructed on how to do it) and I still remember that he opened the main closing loop grunting something about who the F*** packed that rig, of course I had a very tight line twist malfunction, 8 times. Anyway that was my bad experience, so I gave up on skydiving for years before to go back and complete it in another DZ. I definitely want to try to go back with my A license and see what's going on.

Oh yes, I did it through with no problems, just repeated level 8 because I was too rushy to complete it, tried to jump 4 times in a month and everytime was on weather hold for high wind and then I waited 4 hours before jump, I totally messed it up and didn't deserve to pass. I'm so happy now that I'm on solo and only 4 jumps from my license! Definitely ground school again was really good, things changed a little bit since 2005 and I'm glad I did it again. Being new in this sport I had many doubts and questions, that's why I posted here, and I got really awesome feedbacks and answers, really helpful! Thanks. The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

Again, thank you all for your responses, I see and feel a lot of good judgment and professionalism, your opinions are really important for me. It might sounds stupid, but I'm just looking for some sort of "interior peace of mind", that experience left an open wound that I'd like to heal. The reason I cited my SL military jumps, is just to demonstrate that I wasn't a total newbie, and I am aware, now even more ;) that there is a HUGE difference between SL and free fall skydive. This will make a better skydiver out of me. Thanks again! Thomas The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

Thank you for reply, I really need others opinion. I think I have demonstrated that I'm not either paralyzed or a human brick, since I passed all levels with no issues whatsoever. I'd like to hear from you since you are in the sport for such a long time, how many times AFF instructors made someone repeat 1 and 2 three times??? Unless you pass out in free fall or panic, etc, I see no reason to do that, and I talked with many skydivers at the DZ, instructors included. What I'm trying to get here is fair opinion from personal experience, I don't want other people to go the same bad experience I had, that's all. Thank you again for your reply, that helps me. The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

My concern is not money itself, skydiving is an expensive activity, I'm aware of that and I don't mind to spend money on something I like, what I do mind is to be ripped off, because this is what happened to me. The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.

Hi everybody, I started my AFF in 2006, I reached the level 3 but not passed, jumped 8 times total and I had to give up because I moved far from DZ and went to Iraq for more than 1 year, now I want to go back on skydiving. So I called a DZ and the told me that I have to start from AAF 1, ground school included. My last jump was August 2006. I was wondering if that is a rule or is just to the DZ to decide that. I know about the 30 days rule between levels that you must do a refresh, but online I can't find any place where I can read all the regulations that govern the AFF training. Can anyone shed some light? I already spent more than 1k in those jumps, I don't really feel like I have to go through ground school again!! I have military SL 108 jumps, not really my first time jumping from an airplane!! LOL Thank you so much for your help. The mind is like a parachute: If you don't open it, it doesn't work.