Kerridwen

This is my first helmet & full face helmet. What I like- I like not having to fuss with goggles. I have a good field of vision. Fairly easy to open with gloves. The pocket for the audible is definitely secure. In fact it is a little tough to get the audible back out but I'd rather have it that way than having to fuss with it. What I dislike- The visor does fog up on me and the condensation is pretty extreme but it does clear up in freefall but if you don't open the visor under canopy you have the same issue. I'm proably breathing out of my nose & causing this problem but it's an issue until I train myself otherwise. The visor, when open, gradually slides down and even when opened fully doesn't go back very far. I saw someone with a camera on his and his visor could not stay open without being held no matter what he did. This probably isn't an issue for most but because of the covered chin strap I can't hook the helmet on my harness or wrist while I'm gathering my canopy on the ground and/or walking back. You can open the visor and hook it on you that way but I tend to get grass or other debris on the inside much easier that way. You definitely need to try this helmet on, I was not the size suggested either.

This review is based solely on the AFF/coach school. DO NOT transfer as an AFF student!! You may as well just start from the beginning and save yourself the $$. They seemed to have unatainable expectations. It seemed as though you needed to have a perfect jump every time or they would start you right back from the beginning again. Although they passed me on my AFF levels and I had 14 coach jumps with them (which cost the same as AFF jumps btw) plus several tunnel sessions (they required at least one) they still wouldn't allow me to do my solos or hop & pops. Did I need some work? Yes, was I so bad that I needed many more expensive coach dives? No. $2900 later and no A license plus frustration at the lack of consistency in teaching, as well as barely any canopy training, I decided to finish my A license elsewhere. As for the facilities, the place is fantastic! Great gear store, good eats, plenty of room, lots of loads going up and plenty of opportunity for other camps/training (I did training with Axis which was awesome!). The weather was perfect nearly the entire time I was there, couldn't really ask for more. Now that I am licensed I will definitely return to SDAZ for jumping but do feel the need to warn students not to transfer in.

I think if more people take responsibility for themselves and family, along with learning not having to keep up with the Jones', they'd find things a lot easier. Get back to what matters and focus on necessities rather than excessive wants and before anyone says food or heating oil, do we really need super large houses and new cars every few years and the latest & greatest gadgets? As others have mentioned, it is "We the people". We the people can get the people in or out of office that can make the much needed changes but people are not doing that then want to blame everyone else. We need to unify and use what means we have to bring about change.

Does that mean bacon makes whuffos better? ;) For the sake of argument, someone's going to have to test that theory out lol. Any volunteers XD

What that chick did was douchey. The flip side to that question is: Is it right for a man to expect a woman to put out just because he paid for dinner?

Work out Tunnel You could always take a vacation to a warmer place and do AFF in a week.

I've only been skydiving since Sep this year and have already had two issues. Ironically, the first was a skydiver (not from my current DZ) and when he found out I fell in love with skydiving after a couple tandems & signed up for AFF, he gave me an ultimatum...him or skydiving #2, Whuffo saw how much time I spent at the DZ and when I invited him to come down with me, answered with, "Why? So I can be your bitch?" I'm not crazy about dating someone from my DZ because I don't want the hassle if things don't work out. We'll see how long that lasts lol.

I am shocked! SHOCKED I tell you...that on average there's only 1 pic per page!! Oh the injustice of it all

It's not the norm to run every plate. There usually has to be something that arouses suspicion (like drifting all over the lane, tailgating etc.) They are also looking for things like expired tags or inspection stickers, defective equipment etc. Keep in mind all the PD's get lists of what licenses are under in their jurisdiction plus vehicle descriptions of wanted people or vehicles seen at crime scenes etc. Before anyone gets annoyed by these laws, remember it's not the police who make the laws, they are just the ones who have to enforce them and get a lot of crap for it. That being said, regardless of if they run the plate, they have to have a valid reason to pull you over. For instance, say someone reports a drunk driver - they can't just pull them over (unless there is a witness who will testify to seeing that person do something). Otherwise they have to drive behind them to observe erratic op first. However, if you should be pulled over for expired tags and they smell alcohol then you'll be doing a sobriety test. Please keep in mind that while there are bad apples in every group, in general officers are not power mad and out to get you. They want to help people which is why they got the job. It's certainly not for the bennies unless you consider being out in the blazing sun or pouring rain or snow, handling the most atrocious things people do to each other on a daily basis, dealing with every disaster and not being able to tend to their own family, nevermind the messed up shifts and missing out on a lot of family, friends and fun to be attractive benefits.

You made it? THANK YOU!! It's helped me be more aware of how long it takes me to do different tasks (like waving off and pulling). Huge help and thank you for sharing plus doing it for free too!

Video! I did video and once I could see it, it was a lot easier for me to start correcting. A helpful tip my instructor gave me... Instructor: Do you find yourself turning at all Me: Yes Instructor: Which direction Me: To the right My instructor put the video in and I could see my left knee was down lower, so the tip was when I started to turn to adjust that knee till I wasn't turning anymore. Simple fix. So I would go with video and a coach then adjust accordingly. Tunnel time helped a ton too for me so I'd work some more tunnel time with video in there as well. Also, don't try to fix everything at once. Pick one, work on it, then work in another (so said my awesome instructor who rocks!)

1. What’s your name? Elusive ;) (Maybe I’ll share later, it’s Irish folklore & very distinct) 2. How old are you? 26 (for a few years now lol) 3. Why did you decide to start jumping out of airplanes? I’ve always wanted to fly/soar 4. Are you single or taken? Married? Single 5. Do you have kids? No 6. What do you drive? Wrangler 7. Have you ever done a kisspass? Never even heard of it, it’s on the list now 8. Where do you live? New Hampshire 9. Do you have any pets? 19 year old green Iguana and 2 geriatric cats 10. How many jumps do you have? 5 11. What color eyes do you have? Gray 12. What is your nationality? American (Mostly Irish descent w some Montauk) 13. Have you ever dated someone you met off the internet? Yes 14. Favorite Movie? The Matrix 15. What do you do when you aren’t skydiving? I do handmade bath & body items (soap mostly but lip balm, lotion, bath salts etc.) 16. Have you ever BASE jumped? No 17. If not... do you want to? Another item on my list, long way away right now though. 18. Do you have siblings? Only child 19. Where do you want to travel to the most? South America (Galapagos, Machu Picchu, Angel Falls, The Amazon & since I’d be kind of in the neighborhood, Antarctica too). 20. What's your favorite color? Purple 21. Where was the last place you flew to (not skydiving )? Phoenix

Teaching style has a huge impact and the instructor has to decide if they are teaching for you or for themselves. If they are teaching for themselves it doesn't matter how it impacts the student (well maybe if they want to keep their job). If they are teaching to share their knowledge and foster the curiosity and growth of their students then their teaching style absolutely matters regardless of what they are teaching.

I did my first tandem on 8/18 and after coming in, one of the instructors looked at me and said "oh she's an addict" which I thought was strange...However I did hang around for the rest of the day then thought about it every moment after that (awake and asleep). I started looking into AFF training and decided come hell or high water I was going to get the money to go. So I went back a week later to do another tandem to make sure I really liked it (disregard the fact that I signed up for AFF before being "sure" lol) and was thrilled to discover it was even better the second time!! When I walked in several of them said "knew you'd be back" and that they knew I'd be signing up for AFF. I do feel different but how do I look different (even people at work commented on it)?? Still thinking about it every moment and counting down the days til I start AFF camp (12 days) and I'm pretty certain it's just going to keep getting better. I can tell you I have gone through quite a bit and haven't been myself in a very long time. With the first jump it stirred my soul and I felt alive again; it's like being reborn. On top of that, I've met some of the coolest people from all different walks of life that just get it. It's funny because people who are afraid to skydive think we have a deathwish when it's just the opposite! So what do you think? Is it love?