IceWater 0 #1 July 22, 2010 What does a person do when they are handed a golden ticket – then back away? I had my second tandem jump (way too poor to take AFF (this month – next month hopefully!)), but my instructor was lovely and started to teach me the art of sky diving… Lets start with the jump – I cannon balled out!!! Flipping and rotating through 1,000 feet of sky before I was stabilized thanks to the work of the gentlemen that was along for the trip. He offered me the toggles to learn control of the parachute, but after my disastrous trip out – I declined. Now the question is – how much of a hole did I dig for myself? Do I need to (read SHOULD I) do another tandem before AFF? Did I miss too much by not landing the parachute myself with an instructor on board?? What do you think?Life is not about how many breaths you take; but rather how many moments there are that take your breath away. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jim_32766 0 #2 July 22, 2010 Welcome to the world of skydiving and to the forums! Many people enter into AFF without doing any tandem jumps. I think doing one tandem is a good way to get over the fear of getting out of the plane. After that, if you are planning to learn to skydive, I'd go to AFF, not more tandems. You are ready!The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mangiapane85 0 #3 July 22, 2010 ^^^Agreed. And next time, if you happen to do this "cannonball" type exit you speak of, try not to be in the same position when it comes deployment time. At least remember to do that, and you'll probably be okay. And arching never hurts either. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluetwo 0 #4 July 22, 2010 Go right on into it next, there's no need to do any more tandems. Maybe see if the DZ can work with you on payments? Either way welcome to the forums and the wild world of falling out of the sky. It's awesome here!_______________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #5 July 22, 2010 Welcome to the forums! She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #6 July 22, 2010 Have you noticed that you are getting "advice" from youngsters with little more experience than YOU have? Excepting Skymama, of course, who beat me on the posting by 2 minutes. Ignore it. Please discuss this with the AFF instructors at Mile-High. They are highly experienced and have the knowledge and skills to evaluate your situation. They are the ones who will properly and safely guide you.My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jim_32766 0 #8 July 22, 2010 Quote Have you noticed that you are getting "advice" from youngsters with little more experience than YOU have? Excepting Skymama, of course, who beat me on the posting by 2 minutes. Ignore it. Please discuss this with the AFF instructors at Mile-High. They are highly experienced and have the knowledge and skills to evaluate your situation. They are the ones who will properly and safely guide you. Wow - what a condescending post! And then you tell him to go talk to AFF instructors, which is exactly where we "youngsters" advised him to go. Were you thinking our advice to check into the AFF course would somehow have him bypass the AFFIs or their input?The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mangiapane85 0 #9 July 22, 2010 ^^Ditto. Sorry I don't have 100,000 jumps and I'm not 120 years old. I forgot to mention in my earlier post,... talk to your AFFi's. They can give you more tangible advice. I'm just a youngster though. -FEAR IS TEMPORARY...REGRET IS FOREVER! -"People living deeply have no fear of death"- Anais Nin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IceWater 0 #10 July 22, 2010 It's all the step by step process I guess. After my first jump in which I was really just along for the ride, I'd get little shivers thinking about pulling the chute. Then again I must say that first off I had just finished reading an accident report where an AFF student didn't activate her AAD and spent the entire 12,000 feet feeling around her container for the drogue, until her hard lading. Of course I did not want to repeat the same mistake. Now I have pulled cord and wondered what on earth was I worried about! :-) I enjoy sky diving and it is the most relaxing, and mentally challenging thing I've ever done (and I come from a world of 'extreme' sports). I'll continue with my AFF - I was just nervous that by missing the opportunity to pilot a parachute with a tandem instructor along, that I'd have a couple extra hurdles to get over during AFF.Life is not about how many breaths you take; but rather how many moments there are that take your breath away. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bertt 0 #11 July 23, 2010 Welcome to skydiving. Have fun - be safe. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1448166;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unreadYou don't have to outrun the bear. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #12 July 24, 2010 Quote Quote Have you noticed that you are getting "advice" from youngsters with little more experience than YOU have? Excepting Skymama, of course, who beat me on the posting by 2 minutes. Ignore it. Please discuss this with the AFF instructors at Mile-High. They are highly experienced and have the knowledge and skills to evaluate your situation. They are the ones who will properly and safely guide you. Wow - what a condescending post! And then you tell him to go talk to AFF instructors, which is exactly where we "youngsters" advised him to go. Were you thinking our advice to check into the AFF course would somehow have him bypass the AFFIs or their input? Posts # 2, 3, and 4 were indeed "skydiving advice to a student" by people not yet remotely qualified to give it; most definitely more than simply advising the OP to speak to his instructors. One of those posts was made by a person who, as of this date, has never jumped yet. FYI, Andy (popsjumper), a long-time jumper and well-respected instructor who you just treated very disrespectfully, is consistently sensible and non-condescending on these boards. You are completely off-base in thinking his post was condescending; in fact, it was spot on. I strongly urge you to take a deep breath and reconsider, not just your post, but your attitude. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluetwo 0 #13 July 24, 2010 All I can say is someone told me I should go for AFF when I first posted here and I'm REALLY GLAD they did because it prompted me to go for it. I probably would've waited longer or wasted more money on tandems and for that, I thank them. It should go without saying that anything you read on a message board, by anybody, should be adhered to with caution. In the end you make your own decisions; take what makes sense and filter out the rest. Best of luck whatever you decide._______________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jim_32766 0 #14 July 27, 2010 Quote Quote Quote Have you noticed that you are getting "advice" from youngsters with little more experience than YOU have? Excepting Skymama, of course, who beat me on the posting by 2 minutes. Ignore it. Please discuss this with the AFF instructors at Mile-High. They are highly experienced and have the knowledge and skills to evaluate your situation. They are the ones who will properly and safely guide you. Wow - what a condescending post! And then you tell him to go talk to AFF instructors, which is exactly where we "youngsters" advised him to go. Were you thinking our advice to check into the AFF course would somehow have him bypass the AFFIs or their input? Posts # 2, 3, and 4 were indeed "skydiving advice to a student" by people not yet remotely qualified to give it; most definitely more than simply advising the OP to speak to his instructors. One of those posts was made by a person who, as of this date, has never jumped yet. FYI, Andy (popsjumper), a long-time jumper and well-respected instructor who you just treated very disrespectfully, is consistently sensible and non-condescending on these boards. You are completely off-base in thinking his post was condescending; in fact, it was spot on. I strongly urge you to take a deep breath and reconsider, not just your post, but your attitude. Advising someone to go to a medical clinic or to see a doctor is far from providing medical advice. Likewise, advising someone to look into AFF is far from giving skydiving advice. I believe most people can tell the difference. I for one hope all new skydivers, experienced skydivers, young skydivers, old skydivers, and even whuffos promote our sport by encouraging those that have an interest in learning to skydive to look into AFF. Doing so puts the person safely into the hands of AFFIs and potentially expands participation in skydiving. Why would any of us discourage someone from providing that promotion? Why would we tell the recipient to "ignore it"? The value and validity of that encouragement have no relation to jump numbers of the source. I further hope the OP did indeed check into AFF, and then encourages others that have in interest in learning to skydive to do the same, regardless of the OP's jump numbers at the time he provides that encouragement. Such promotion, and my earlier response defending it, is entirely "on-base". If condescending responses have a place at all, let's save them for situations where newbies are truly providing skydiving advice, and bad advice at that, e.g. advising canopy downsizing too rapidly. True harm could come from such advice, to the recipient and to our sport in general. We all look for the voice of experience to step into those situations and help.The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #15 July 27, 2010 Quoteadvising someone to look into AFF is far from giving skydiving advice. That's not "merely" what occurred. Post #2 and 4 not only suggested AFF, but advised him that no more tandems were necessary FOR HIM, and that the OP - A STUDENT - was ready for AFF. Completely inappropriate for people with only 40 and 12 jumps, respectively (as of this date), who have never met this student, to advise. Only this student's instructors are in a position to evaluate what he is and is not ready for, and to give him such advice. Post #3, from someone who has never yet skydived before, said "And next time, if you happen to do this "cannonball" type exit you speak of, try not to be in the same position when it comes deployment time. At least remember to do that, and you'll probably be okay. " The poster was completely unqualified to give that advice to a student. I stand by my posts. Encouragement is fine; in fact, it's great! But I have a pet peeve about newbies giving new students advice when they're not yet qualified to give it. If that offends you, that's too bad. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #16 July 28, 2010 Ok, guys, take your disagreement somewhere else and let our new member enjoy his thread.She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
