Looking to start this winter!

[LawrenceCohen 0]

Hi everyone! I just made the commitment to start this out and get on the ball for this exclusive club of jumpers.

I am saving money for the course and of course gear.
Any recommendation on which gear that I can purchase that is suitable for new fellers like me?
Also, I would like meh friends to watch from the airplane i will be jumping out of. Do they allow friends to watch from the inside?

[popsjumper 2]

Welcome to the Big Blue Skies!

You're going to a lot of answers along these lines:

- Equipment
Forget about equipment for now. You will be provided with all the equipment you need for training and for quite a few jumps afterwards. You have no idea about equipment choices at this point...you'll want to learn bout it before you invest in something that is not going to suit you. Too many young jumpers have made that mistake.

-Friends
Yes and no. Some DZs will offer Observation Rides, some won't. Ask your DZ.
What I, as an AFFI Instructor, will advise is to forget about this until well after your training. You're going to have a lot to think about and a lot to do in training and I would not want you to be distracted away from what's important. I would not allow it if I was your instructor.

Save that cash! You're gonna need it.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[GooniesKid 0]

LawrenceCohen

Hi everyone! I just made the commitment to start this out and get on the ball for this exclusive club of jumpers.

I am saving money for the course and of course gear.
Any recommendation on which gear that I can purchase that is suitable for new fellers like me?
Also, I would like meh friends to watch from the airplane i will be jumping out of. Do they allow friends to watch from the inside?

LOL! Only reason why I lol is because, bro, you will too stimulated with information and what's going around you to even care if you have family or friends watching you from the JUMP plane.
And that's another thing, if you're going to become one of us "exclusive jumpers" start with using correct lingo. It's jump plane not airplane.

And winter? why you no start now? Unless you like the cold

And gear..well, dude posted that you won't need gear,,yet.
And please don't start asking about getting gear at this early stage. it's been beaten to death,,,just don't go there, yet.

Oh, and you'll need money for for the next few years.

Oh, and the prospects..they are far and few so know the DZ is a "sword" fight for the pretties prospects.

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Pff! You don't have to worry about whether your friends can ride along to watch you jump or not, if they're going to jump out of the plane too! It's a perfect excuse to drag someone along for a tandem!

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[UGAflash 0]

Personally I have ridden up in the jump plane before when I was in the early stages of my IAD jumps, it was fun seeing jumpers from the King Air instead of the Cessna, which was what I was used to. Your friends/family should enjoy watching from the ground just as much as the air if not more because they get to see you under canopy and on your landing pattern.

As far as gear is concerned I agree with what everyone else has said, BUT I would give you the advice I was given as soon as I graduated IAD student status. The first things I bought was a helmet, goggles, and altimeter. Don't get me wrong, you are able to rent these along with your rig until you buy one, but having a helmet, goggles and altimeter might make you more comfortable like it has for me. I would say don't throw down STACKS on that gear, but personally having that gear has helped me become more comfortable and consistent.

[rsb5267 0]

Keep your friends and family on the ground, they will only distract you from visualizing the dive flow on the way to altitude. See if your instructor will wear a GoPro and film your dives. That will allow your family to actually see you potato-chipping all over the sky

[Boomerdog 0]

Newly licensed guy here. Popsjumper's input is absolutely sound. My instructor would advise me when it was time to buy a certain piece of equipment. Instructors understand "the learning curve." Having the training experience still fresh in my mind, my own personal observation and conclusions are to concentrate on the training block you are in. Along the way, they will show you how a rig works, it's principle parts and packing but again let your instructors set the pace and remember, mountains are moved ONE ROCK AT TIME.

Blue Skies

[Di0 1]

Student with 7-8 jumps here.

For some reason, I would freak out much more than I already do if I knew my family or friends are watching from the plane.

Also, if you get to know the airplanes that we use to jump from, you'll soon realize that you don't want any of your loved ones on those planes WITHOUT a parachute. LOL!

Considering the way the seat belts are mounted on jump planes, they can pretty much only be used on the parachute harness, I would assume a regular passenger would NOT be safe where the jumpers are, the only place where a person would be allowed to seat without jumping is the copilot seat. Some DZs let customers sign up for copilot rides, so that might be the best thing to do if you really want a friend of yours or your mom/dad to seat on the plane while you jump. But then again, as they say, wait until you know what you're doing and don't put extra pressure on you, during your first jumps you'll have plenty already.

I'm standing on the edge
With a vision in my head
My body screams release me
My dreams they must be fed... You're in flight.