hokierower

The winds this weekend in South Texas were pretty crazy too. San Marcos was gusting above 25 for most of the weekend. So instead, of jumping, I enjoyed riding my motorcycle in the hill country. If only I was allowed to pack, then I'd have been there packing and unpacking again and again til my fingers bled.

There's another thread floating around here re: the cost to get an A-license from 0 jumps and it ranges from $2400-2800 depending on a variety of factors. I know someone from the Farm piped in saying that they have a A-license package for $1900 or so but you'd most likely have to sacrifice something/one to the skygods for good weather and take a week off of work, otherwise doing only 1 jump a week will take you a while. Just for reference, it's been 7 weeks (8 counting this weekend) since my FJC and I've gotten 6 jumps in total. 3 one day, 2 the next, and then 1 last weekend. Good luck and even though I never did a tandem I can honestly say that solo is frickin awesome!

That was awesome, but totally insane. The dog part had me laughing a bit.

A little off topic here, but what do you guys consider to be debt? -Student loans? - Under a certain amount I wouldn't consider these to be debt because of the low interest rate. -Car/Motorcycle loans? - I would say that these are debt, but in my case I'm 3k in front of my bike so even if I sold it today I'd come out of it with money in my pocket. -Credit Cards? - obviously, unless it's an AMEX that is required to be paid off at the end of the month or a card that is regularly paid off. -House mortgage? - Most people make an exception for this one. A lot of people here are saying "I'm debt free...except for the mortgage on my house/property/etc. -Random loans? - Yes. 100% debt here. Again, 23yrs old fresh out of school so my viewpoint is a little skewed. I put 10% of my paycheck into the 401k, get matched another 4%. I have no dependents, my GF and I are in a long-distance relationship due to work/grad-school, therefore I live alone. My workday is 7am to 5pm at a minimum, sometimes to 6 or 7pm depending on the jobsite and workload. I splurged as soon as I got my first couple of paychecks but now I'm through spending the big bucks (except for this whole skydiving thing...didn't see this one coming when I did my budgeting at the beginning of the year).

Congrats man! I'm on jump 7 (did 6 this past weekend) but my DZ's AFF is a bit longer because they include jumps 8-14 in it but you get a coach instead of an instructor. Good luck with the rest of your training and have fun on the solo jump. One of the things I was recommended was on that first solo, jump out, get stable, and just relax and enjoy the freefall. For me that will be jump 15, but you get to do that now

Depends on how many you have already... I'm 23, brand new out of college, and have a full time job making pretty damn good money for someone my age. I bought my first bike (Suzuki GS500) in july and paid it off in 6mo. I just sold that bike and bought a new one (Triumph Street Triple R) that I put 1/4 down on when I picked it up. I have student debts which I'm working off. But that's it. I drive a '01 Civic to work, have a pretty decent apartment, but no credit card debt to speak of. I have 1 credit card, and it's got a $500 limit (no credit history). It's enough to let me do things but not enough that I can't pay it off at the end of each month. I'd say cut that thing up right now. Debt these days is a bad thing, especially the way the job market is.

Wow, how did I necro a thread this badly...it isn't like '04 is recent either. Damn.

That's a pretty good idea, especially since air is a fluid just like water. Move you arm without doing the opposite with you other arm is going to cause you to spin, just like it would in the air. Thank you for this little tidbit Mark. To the OP, don't get discouraged man, it gets SOOO much better. My AFF progression is 7 jumps with an instructor, 7 jumps with a coach, and then solos w/ either the choice of a instructor or a coach until your A-license. I just finished my Lvl 6 which is backflips & tracking and it was a hoot. Keep up the hard work!

I was always told, "You can't jump if you're not here!" I also try and get to the DZ early so I can put my name up on the AFF board first so I can get on the first load that meets weather req'm

; 1 ; 2 Only my AFF Lvl 6 b/c clouds didn't clear until 5ish on Sat. Sun was crap all day. First jump out of a skyvan and crossed the beer line on landing. I'll just buy multiple cases when I finish my next lvl.

Thanks the pointers. Threw in a couple of comments. Keep the advice rolling in! EDIT: Just thought of a conflict with the Cypress...what if the first rig is a one pin and the second rig is a two pin? Can I just buy the second pin and hook it up?

I wish I had nice weather right now. I took my FJC on 2/19 and here I am, 5 weeks later with only 5 jumps to my name. I've lived at the DZ for the last 5 weekends and of the 10 days I've been there I've only jumped on two of the days. One day I got 3 jumps in, the other I got 2 because it didn't clear up until 2pm. Clouds always seem to roll in on the weekend and then in the afternoon, the wind springs up to blow them away but the 14mph limit has been exceeded. Back to the waiting game I guess since this weekend was looking glorious and now it's turned to shit.

I will definitely talk to my riggers/instructors as I draw closer to my A license. As far as Cadmium goes, I think that I'll be ok, but like all shiny things, i'll have to watch myself very closely.

Assuming NO rejumps during AFF (knocking on my head hard right now) and 25 jumps to complete my A license proficiency card, it'll cost me $2670. That includes: $70 FJC Lvls 1-3 w/ 2 instructors - $225 each Lvls 4-7 w/ 1 instructor -$155 each Lvls 8-14 w/ Coach - $100 each Jumps 15-25 - $22 + $30 for gear rental each (can save money by jumping more than twice a day) Goggles, Logbook, & SIM are given out during Lvls 1-3. Bought a Galaxy alti for $155. Total comes out to $2800. Looks like you're in the ballpark. Keep in mind though that my jumps 8-14 include a coach. EDIT: Forgot tunnel time. That's another $1100 for the trip plus an hour in the tunnel.

Thanks for the replies and others for the PMs. I will definitely be keeping an eye open for good deals on the classified section for both individual deals and whole rigs. Like I mentioned, I was doing some research came across Racers and was wondering about them since I (a) haven't seen a lot at my DZ, (b) haven't seen a whole lot up for sale, (c) searching the forums, never saw much about them. As far as the reserve system, from my understanding the pilot chute is mounted externally which allows it to deploy faster than a normal reserve system. I got most of that from reading the articles on their website so my understanding is skewed towards the manufacturer's literature v. real world scenarios. I'd be grateful if someone could explain it in a bit more detail. Currently my weight fluctuates between 180 & 185 and i'm 5'11". Tack on a conservative 30lb for gear and I'm exiting at 210-215. Right now as an AFF student I'm jumping a 230 which puts my WL @ between .9 & .94. I plan to move up to a 210 once off AFF instructor jumps (1-7) and on AFF coached jumps (8-14). Once off coached jumps I plan on jumping a 190 and purchasing my first rig with a 190 in it. This is all up to approval my my AFFI. Anything unreasonable about this canopy progression? Should be if you downsize. Nothing wrong with staying at a light wingload, especially as they would be able to at least go one size down with the existing rig. This guy isn't even licensed yet, but the expectation of downsizing more than his rig can accommodate is assumed. That price of the new racer is attractive, but consider that you should not, IMO, buy a rig with cadmium plated steel hardware - get stainless steel hardware. I don't know if Jumpshack will offer it, as it isn't listed as an option (I'd think they would bend on this item). The notice about the RSL is wise, many would advise having only a one-sided RSL rather than have the risk that the two-sided design imposes. If you get an AAD, you would have to get a cutter for a 2 pin system, which will cost a little more (about $150) when you buy it new, or you'll have to buy a new cutter if you buy a used AAD that is a one pin unit. I'm not expecting myself to downsize for a while. I bought the ticket up, I'm sure as hell gonna enjoy the ride down. Thanks for the heads up on the AAD & the ring hardware. I'd have to see if they'd make the exception and put SS gear on.

I know it's a ways out (like 20) jumps minimum, but I like to do a lot of research before I do something so I'm informed (for better or worse). Before I did my FJC I had already read through the SIM, partially out of nervousness but partially out of excitement and wanting to learn the "lingo". I'm kinda doing the same thing now with gear, even though it's a ways out. I've heard people saying that a new A-license holder should buy a used rig to learn on before moving on or buy a new container and a used main & reserve. I've got $4k set aside for when that day comes and I've kept an eye out looking for what certain items go for. I'm looking at starting out with a 190 which will have a WL of 1.1. My main question is about Racer containers. I've been taking a hard look at the Shadow Racer 2k3 because: (a) The reviews I've read had been positive and the biggest complaint I kept reading about was the velco riser covers, something that has since been replaced in the 2k3. (b) Fully built to fit it's $1450 w/o taxes, so $1600 or so out the door. This would allow me to spend $2400 on the rest of the components and still give me a rig built to fit me. (c) No options for coloring but as a first rig I'd rather learn how to fly my body and my canopy rather than looking good. Besides, since it's black, when I screw up my landing the rig wont look like a turd. (d) The reserve system looks/appreas to work pretty damn cool/good. Another bonus. Does anyone have any insight into the container/manufacturer? I'm not looking at this rig for use in a specific discipline, I'm looking at it as my first rig, something that will allow me to learn as I progress in this sport. I can't find a whole lot for sale which means that either no one uses them or no one wants to sell them. My AFF lvl 5 instructor has one so if I see him this weekend I'll definitely be asking him about it.

Fixed that for you. You gotta ice before the big game.

That's the worst frickin part about moving to Texas, no Yuengling, not even the specialty stores. Back in school we'd head across the street to our bar of choice on Tuesdays for 22oz Yuenglings for $2. Great stuff.

I'm a new skydiver and due to my line of work and the company I work for, I probably will be moving around for at least the next 4-6 years. I'm a student right now at San Marcos in Texas and don't know where I'll be in another 3-4 months but i'll most likely have another DZ to call home. Reading through the thread re: Zhills & Deland it seemed like a lot of people have an intense pride and loyalty to their home DZ. I would assume that this is just like a person having an intense loyalty to a pro or college sports team but I could be wrong. Is this a common occurence with skydivers or is it more apparent with certain DZs?

But there's water in beer...right? Therefore, I should fill up a camelbak with shiner and that should keep me hydrated.

I will definitely be doing some drinking after my tunnel time. I heard the area where the tunnel is located has got some pretty decent places to eat and drink. Doing 15min on Friday, 30min on Saturday, & 15min on Sunday, 2.5min rotations.

I've found it's part of being a student. I did my FJC on Feb. 19th but wasn't able to jump first because of clouds and then because of winds. Didn't get to jump the next weekend. Managed to knock out Lvls 1-3 on Sunday the 5th. Didn't get to jump for the next two weekends. Finally jumped lvls 4 & 5 yesterday. 5 for 5 so far and 4 & 5 were so worth the wait (managed to stand my landing on 4 about 10m from the target). The three weekends I didn't get to jump were not for a lack of trying. I show up at 8 on Saturday morning, sit around all day, spend the night, and then waited most, if not all of Sunday. The kicker is that 14mph limit is a real pain in the butt because as soon as you get a gust breaking it, you're done. I'd say 3 of the 6 weekend days I didn't jump, the winds were @ 10 but would gust up to 17 or 18. Just relax and hang out at the DZ. Most of the people i've met are real chill and everyone wants to help out because they have all been in your exact same shoes. This weekend is looking really good (even though the forecast is a ways out) but I hope I can do 6 & 7 so I can do a couple of coached jumps out of the skyvan that's visiting the DZ. After that is another weekend, a business trip, then an hour of tunnel time up in Denver.

So I'm heading up there on to Denver April 22-24, flying out on Friday @ noon and flying back Sunday night. I'll do time friday, saturday, and sunday. I've got a coach and we'll be doing 2-3 minute blocks and then resting. I'm gonna be up there with a bunch of other people from the DZ. Should be a blast! Go AFF 4 & 5 done yesterday!

Depends on the bike... Ducati + Girl in Leathers = Job There's something almost mythical about a chick on a sportbike decked out from head to toe in racing leathers.

I used to ride my 1998 Triumph Sprint to the dropzone, and found a Givi 50L top case a perfect fit for a rig, helmet, jump suits, etc. I'll look into that. I'm riding a Street Triple R so the stock cans really make things difficult and prevent the use of saddlebags. A Givi setup will cost probably about $350...damn