Brand Spankin' New To This

[thirdworld19 0]

OK - I jumped tandem for the 1st time (well, 1st 4 times) a couple of weeks ago and am completely hooked! (Plug for the DZ - I jumped at Skydive Spaceland - great place, great people). The problem is, I live in Egypt and only come to the States occasionally. I'll most likely be back in the States in a couple of months and would like to get my A license (Spaceland offers a week long course).

My questions are: once I get my license, I may not jump for another 6 months - is it like riding a bike? Do I even bother (don't tell me no)? If I've been away for 6 months, what should I do before I jump again? Anyone else out there live/travel in the Middle East that can recommend some good DZs?

Thanks!

[redlegphi 0]

You'll have to do a currency jump with an instructor, who will basically make sure that you can still jump without killing/hurting yourself or others. I'd also recommend that you come back into the sport slowly and conservatively each time.
Also, click on the "Dropzones" tab up on top of the page. You should be able to search the entire Middle Eastern region for dropzones there. Remaining current can mitigate some of the risk inherent in our sport.

[SPAWNmaster 0]

very good advice from redlegphi. however I'd like to add that in my experience it kind of is like riding a bike in that time away doesn't necessarily mean you lose your "skylegs".

i've only ever gone 2 months without jumping but when i did my recurrency jump it felt like i had not stopped. hope that helps.

blue skies

[crotalus01 0]

The closest dropzone to Egypt that I know of is outside of Tel Aviv in Israel, SkyKef I believe it is called. I was gonna try and get some jumps there in 2006 but the airline lost my bag and I got caught up dealing with that whole mess and missed out.
If you are uncomfortable going to Israel the next closest I know of would be in Morocco, and it is a seasonal dropzone, they were closed when I was there in 2005.

edit to add there is a dropzone outside of Dubai in the UAE, and there was a fledgeling dropzone starting up outside of Tehran, Iran (don't know the status on that one). There is also a dropzone in Cyprus, and another close to the Lebanese border in Israel. Those are the only ones I know of in the ME vicinity. Good luck.

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[altichick 0]

Israel DZs.... Paradive is near Tel Aviv, Skykef is further south. Neither is 7 days a week though. Perhaps southern europe could be another option in that area?

Don't sweat the petty things... and don't pet the sweaty things!

[wmw999 2,126]

As a low-timer who can only occasionally make a jump you will need to be exceedingly careful, because there is a lot of skydiving that comes with experience, and with long layoffs, you'll be re-learning that experience regularly. I'm talking about safety stuff more than skill stuff (although both apply).

Wherever you jump, until you can maintain some currency, jump a rig that's "below your skill level" (i.e. fairly docile main and reserve) until you have the time and currency to hone it. Really.

There are a number of different directions you an go in skydiving to challenge yourself; canopy, freefly, RW, accuracy, etc. You shouldn't try to challenge yourself on all of them at once.

Currency is definitely one of them, and challenging yourself on currency should limit what other skydiving dimensions you choose to challenge yourself. Those guys who are good at it all have a shitload of jumps, and probably spent as many jumps getting good at one discipline as many jumpers who are trying to emulate them have total.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[fastphil 0]

Wendy W. is right on about currency; take plenty of it with you to the DZ.

My thoughts are you should make all the jumps you can now, cause what if you can't jump even after six months...