hokierower

My life SO fucking rocks! Got 4 more jumps in this weekend, all of them on my VERY OWN PACKJOBS! Up to 20 jumps and just need 5 more for my A! Back at work today at my AWESOME job, which pretty cool people, doing something that MATTERS! Family is all in good health and I get to see my parents & GF the first of July. AWESOME!

I'm not in the same exact boat with you, but I'm similar. I haven't had any problems getting through levels but I am restricted to jumping only on the weekends and so far this year the weekends have been absolute garbage. All of the really nice weather takes place on the weekdays so all of the students who start after me and can jump during the week quickly pass me while I sit on the weather days. If you can, I'd recommend some tunnel time so you don't think of free-fall as the great unknown. It'll help with controlling your body and you'll find yourself much more relaxed during freefall. My first solo jump was a floating exit from 13.5k ft, then a stable fall until pull @ 4k ft. 9.5k ft of free fall takes a LONG time!

I bought my first rig (being put together now ) over the internet but I had a lot of help from multiple experienced jumpers. I picked up an AAD, Container + Reserve, and a main for about $3k after misc. costs. If you know people at the DZ that would be willing to help you, ask their opinion but keep in mind that everyone has an opinion and not to just rely on what one person says.

I grew up as a military brat because my dad is in the Marine Corps. I was in USMC ROTC for about a year and a half in college and then left ROTC (not college) to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I stayed in the Corps of Cadets because all of my friends were there with me. I have a lot of friends in the armed forces, quite a few of whom are serving overseas right now. My dad was serving in Japan during the crisis situation. That said, I won't wear a shirt with the Eagle, Globe, & Anchor because I haven't gone through the obstacles required to wear them. I support the military (some branches more than others...) but I appreciate the sacrifices that my dad as an active duty Marine and my mom as a spouse of 26 years have to make. Semper Fi Honor, Courage, Commitment, This We'll Defend Semper Paratus "Air Force Motto Here"

I was hoping that this past weekend I'd be able to have a whole load of firsts, unfortunately the weather didn't pan out. I was looking at: -Jumping first pack job -First A-license jump -First rig -First jump on new rig Might have been another one but that's all I got for now. What's the highest number you've managed to get?

I haven't been in the sport for long, so my viewpoint is still a little skewed, but unless it's a very good friend of mine, the only way someone is getting money from me is: A. They got hurt doing something non-skydiving related (i.e. Kyle Kniffen motorcycle accident which I relate to because I ride a motorcycle and know how bad most drivers are). B. They were jumping and ended up in an accident because of someone elses stupidity. C. Lose all their stuff through some other means. People who can afford insurance (life or medical) but neglect to insure themselves will not receive a dime from me, nor will the fun jumper who decided that they just had to get that dive in while the weather was shit and ends up getting themselves hurt.

Same situation down here in San Marcos. Three awesome days of sunshine filled with wind.

Interesting. How much freefall time do you get in the the first 14 jumps by the way? Not a lot, maybe 9 minutes, but that 9 minutes was full of automatic responses, not thinking and reacting. I reviewed each of my first 6 dive flows so often that when I finally jumped out of the plane I was moving automatically. After my tunnel time I was able to relax in freefall and do what I needed to but be able to react and move as I wanted. On my coached jumps (8-14) my coaches and I ended up off the beaten path and doing things other than those listed on the student dive flows.

Nope. As someone who completed AFF (levels 1-14) two weeks ago and squeezed in an hour of tunnel time between jumps 6 & 7, I can say without hesitation that tunnel time will not reduce your risk of injuries. It will help expedite your progress through AFF and give you a much better sense of body control, but you will still have to learn your canopy skills one jump at a time.

Why did they leave the Death Star exposed, not once, but twice? How does a proton torpedo do a 90 degree turn? Is there some sort of double negative pressure (since it's in space) that sucks it in? Why was Luke too short to be a storm trooper? These are just some of the questions to be asked, but a word of advice...if you ask too loudly, George Lucas will find you and have his way with you like he did to Indiana Jones in the Crystal Skull. Oh, and he won't use lube.

As soon as I wake up, reach down and make sure that everything is still there.

:0:0 LDR sucks and the winds were little too high. On the bright side, I did learn how to pack! I'll jump my first pack job this weekend and be one step closer to my A! Could have gotten 1 or 2 in, but didn't like the winds and with memorial day coming up and looking to buy a new (to me) rig I felt like the timing would be perfect for something bad to happen.

-Bike laid over at an angle, body off the seat with a knee out kissing the ground. -The moment when I let go of the door. -Rainy day, laying on the couch watching a movie and eating cold pizza. -Girlfriend's smile

I think the name was entirely appropriate for the initial event that came in reaction to the Toronto police comment since he's the one who used the "slut" comment. As a general, North american wide movement, who knows.... Agreed. Name for the original event in Toronto was legit. Name for subsequent events in North America = Error 404: Sense not found

I'm gonna bite on the wriggling worm from the OP, hook be damned. Like you mentioned, in an environment where there is overwhelming majority of one sex, the minority sex will always be pursued more than if they were in the general populace. I saw this during college in the Corps of Cadets where there were a limited number of female cadets...never a shortage of guys to date/sleep with. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that skydiving is the same, but even more so because a guy who dates a girl who is already into skydiving has found someone who won't force them to quit the sport, quite the opposite in fact, because they have possibly found a long term skydiving partner/buddy to train/fly with. That one trait already elevates a seemingly normal individual above her peers from the beginning. Tossing some other factors into the equation, the people who I've hung out with in my, so far, very brief stint into skydiving all seem to be people who enjoy the company of others, are outgoing, and enjoy skydiving for the thrill and relaxation it brings. Personalities are bound to be somewhat similar which leaves physical features and mental health (can really vouch for that one, pretty sure everyone who skydives has a few screws loose) at large. I met my current GF of 2.5 years in college through rowing. We both loved the sport and started as friends and then ended up dating. I don't know how I got this lucky but we both acknowledge that we both have our positives and our negatives and that they balance out in the end. Saying you have to "look past" a perceived imperfection makes it sound to me like you have a checklist and before a girl/woman can even be "good enough" for you, they must meet the lengthy set of requirements that you have. And yes, you may have only listed two (2) requirements, but odds are that those are only the ones you are willing to share and there are several more that you didn't list.

Idea is solid, name is garbage. In my opinion it ruins the message that's trying to be sent. I agree that sexual assult isn't the victim's fault (man or woman), but how is a parade like this going to change the mind of an aggressor?

I did AFF jumps 1-6, then 3 weeks ago did an hour of tunnel time, and the weekend after knocked out AFF lvl 7 and then coached jump Lvl 8. My experience was that the wind tunnel made the freefall maneuvers a breeze. I didn't have to go as crazy as I had on 1-6 mentally preparing for the freefall, I got to spend more time preparing for canopy flight. On the actual jump it was all instinct and afterwards my instructor said that it was not your typical lvl 7 jump. I found that the tunnel was great for learning, because (a) being altitude aware isn't required (plus & minus), (b) instant feedback on your body inputs (instantly know when something changes), (c) coaching at that exact moment from someone who can observe without have to worry about equipment issues, & (d) long, repeated blocks of time where you can practice multiple things without having to weight long periods of time. I'm planning a trip back to CO for August timeframe because it's such a great learning tool.

Definitely crocs. And the guy is an idiot for trying that while wearing that clothing. I posted about halfway down that I had bought a pair of shoes to specifically use while skydiving, something that has a pretty rugged sole. I got to use my KSOs in the Denver tunnel but that's only because I was doing belly work and wouldn't be walking on the wire mesh.

My PM suggested I take the AFF course after I told him I was going to do a tandem. When I came back afterwards and said I was going to start skydiving he was a little surprised but didn't say anything. Then again, I work in a double wide trailer with only 4 other people for a year at a time before moving on to the next trailer, the next team, and the next project.

Managed to finish my AFF instructor jumps Saturday(jumps 1-7) after 2.5 months of sitting at the DZ. I managed to also knock out jump 8 which is the first of 7 coached jumps. Got through 1-7 without any repeats or failures and got a streak of 4 standup landings in a row going on! I will say that the hour of tunnel time I did between jumps 6 and 7 really helped out and will allow me to combine a lot of my coached jump levels together. Thanks to all the Skydive San Marcos instructors and jumpers for their advice and help!

There were a couple of students at my DZ that got off the coached jumps (Lvls 7-14) and asked our Head AFFI if they had to wear a jumpsuit. He responded by saying, "No, you don't have to wear one, but it's an important tool and why would you not want to take advantage of every tool at your disposal when you're learning to skydive?" I think he put it best. I haven't even gotten off AFF and I have a JS (used).

There were teams practicing VFS this past weekend in Denver. One of the people who was watching them practiced remarked, "not only do we get to watch some of the best flying, we get to watch some of the best wipeouts." It was true, there were some epic 4-way wipeouts. The nicest thing about the tunnel was about a second after I jumped in the tunnel, I was stable on my belly and facing my instructor. I got a solid two minutes to fly and then did a quick exit out the door when the lights started flashing. 2 whole minutes without having to worry about altitude or clouds or pulling or any of the other distractions on AFF. I'm not saying those distractions aren't good...my instructor threw out a "pull" sign out of the blue and while it took me a second to recognize it, I immediately went for my butt and where the handle should be.

I'm on level 7 and have managed to go 6 for 6 on my AFF jumps (knock on wood/skull). I've spent every weekend of the last two months at the DZ and only gotten 6 jumps in because the weather is crap (South Texas). I walked in the door 30min ago from the airport after flying home from the Denver tunnel where I flew an hour this weekend (10min fri, 30min yesterday, 20min today). I focused strictly on belly flying instead of trying to start free flying because I needed to get good on my stomach. My instructor was great and the tunnel really helps for a couple of main reasons. 1. You are in a controlled space so any weird turns you'd make in the air but wouldn't notice because you don't have a point of reference you will immediately pick up in the tunnel. I felt that this was one of the best tools. 2. It is very easy to see how adjusting one little movement of your body will affect your fall rate and your position in the sky. 3. Freefall time from 13k feet is maybe a minute if you're lucky and then you have to fly your canopy, debrief, repack, manifest, and fly up to altitude. Oh, and hope that the winds don't show up. The tunnel is AWESOME because you fly in controlled blocks that are long enough for you to learn things with an instructor right next to you without having to constantly be altitude aware. The blocks are also short enough that if you start screwing up, you will run out of time before you get really frustrated. Try getting 15min of freefall through jumping in 1.5hrs as a student. If you have access to a tunnel, I'd use it. I can't wait for my next AFF jump so I can put my new skills to use. P.S. don't forget tho that you can't learn canopy skills in a tunnel.

My last jump was my Lvl 6 and I was majorly sweating the back flips because I have never really been able to do them, even on a trampoline. After talking to my instructors about it and some of the other AFF students I calmed down a little bit. After leaving the plane I was stable, did my COA, then went to do my backflip. I looked up and started to bring my knees to my chest and then slicker than snot I just flipped right over. Getting stable was a little bit more difficult until I got a thumbs down from my AFFI and when I arched I magically stabilized. The second time was even easier. You just gotta remember to keep those hands out when you pull the legs in so that the air flow catches them and because your legs are pulled in, there's no "counterbalance" and you just go right over. I had a blast on that one but then came in and mucked up my landing. Next time...

San Marcos has a pool next to the funjumper rigging room. 2 weeks ago I saw a bunch of pictures up on facebook of people going through water training on a crap weather day.