dj-seus 0 #1 August 2, 2004 Greetings Well, i'm finally throwing in the towell... after graduating AFF 5 months ago, i have finally admitted to myself that i cannot afford to continue... i've been averaging about 1 jump a month since graduating, so of course i am still a ways away from my A license... i suffer from 1 big problem - NO MONEY the day after tomorrow will be 30 days from my last jump, and since i will be working long days this week, my next jump will be a very expensive recurrency jump... and i know i won't be able to afford that one... i wasn't jumping enough to really progress my skillz anyway, but it breaks my heart, because skydiving is the only thing keeping me sane... so next time you're up, do a dive for me... i'll be watching the skies, wishing i was still up there... and knowing that someday i'll return... unfortunately, it won't be for quite some time, as i CERTAINLY can't afford to do AFF all over again... why, why dammit - why must i like such expensive hobbies? ah, well... blue skies and smiling faces -dan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 16 #2 August 2, 2004 Sorry to hear you're bailing on us. Hey, the sport will always be here when you hit the big bucks some day. KEEP YOUR LOGBOOK WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT! I can't tell you how many people come back years later that have no clue where their old log book is. It would be a ahame not to get credit for those early jumps. Have you thought about static line recurrency? It's a lot cheaper than AFF. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
larsrulz 0 #3 August 2, 2004 Sorry to hear that Dan. You should check out Archway in Vandalia, IL. They do static line progression, so each jump is only $39!!! Even recurrency jumps! We get lots of people from in and around St. Louis. I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freakydiver 0 #4 August 2, 2004 Just a thought - get in tight with a rigger and become a packing monkey - I used that tool time and time again over the years when money was tight and I needed to make some jumps... -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." -- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unformed 0 #5 August 2, 2004 save your stuff, work on saving up or getting a better job, and come back. i did my aff over a few months since I could barely afford it, and then realized that there was no way i could jump consistently for financial and time reasons, so i just put it off for a few years. graduated college, got a job, and i'm back again. i still had my aold logbook so they let me take just one refresher jump and a short ground school to make myself current again. (It had been about two years since my last jump and I wasn't licensed.) so take your time, save up and come back. once you own a rig, it becomes really cheap to jump as well...This ad space for sale. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dgskydive 0 #6 August 2, 2004 Dude learn to pack and make extra money that way. If there is a will there is a way.Dom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
argon 0 #7 August 2, 2004 Don't quit-just stop for a while. The sky will be there long after we are all gone. As far as expensive hobbies go-skydiving is the shit-absolutely the most bang for the buck. Relax,take a deep breath and realize money is always a problem until you get a good steady job. As long as you are healthy,you are ahead of the game. I waited 20 years!!! Then I took a tandem jump--unfortunately the landing resulted in a broken back for me--I'll be back maybe not this year but ASAP. DON'T QUIT-you'll hate yourself for a long time. Blue skies.*********** Freedom isn't free. Don't forget: Mother Earth is waiting for you--there is a debt you have to pay...... POPS #9329 Commercial Pilot,Instrument MEL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dj-seus 0 #8 August 2, 2004 greets thanks to everyone for the kind words! unfortunately, i actually live in lebanon, missouri, so i'm about an hour-and-a-half from my home DZ... and i'm on the air 7 days a week in my radio job, so packing part-time is not an option... the primary thing i worry about is having to pay for a lot of re-training when i get back into the sport (which is inevitable for me - i know i will return) i plan on staying current as far as my knowledge goes... i love jumping too much not to log onto dz.com everyday, as well as reading all the latest skydiving mags... and of course practicing emergency prodedures whenever i have a spare minute to myself... if i could do some ground training and one or two coach dives when i return, then i can start jumping again much sooner, i imagine... much sooner than if i have to go through an entire student progression again... i've been frustrated for a while, only making one jump a month... and not being able to afford coach dives to get my A... so i'll prolly wait until i have some cash saved up, and go back into it with gunz blazin'... but thank you for the info on the static line dz in my area... i may check it out! and in the meantime, i'll call my home dz and see what they normally do with students on solo status that take a break... as far as re-training goes... -dan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeemax 0 #9 August 2, 2004 easy, pre rec, then get a tech op to play it out for a couple of nights a week, then become a packing bitch. Theres good money to be made in packing if you work hard Phoenix Fly - High performance wingsuits for skydiving and BASE Performance Designs - Simply brilliant canopies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dgskydive 0 #10 August 2, 2004 That's right. Pack one weekend save the money and jump the next. I make shit money and mange to jump all the time. Just gotta figure out your priorites. I used to make 6 figures and never had time to jump. The less money I make the more I seem to be able to jump! Crazy!Dom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstime 0 #11 August 3, 2004 your not alone with the money thingee. It took me 4 years to get off student status. It was frustrating so I divorced my wife ,sold the house, gave my lawn mower and my dog to the neighbor,gave up smoking started drinking pabst blue ribbon, washed my clothes in the sink, go to happy hour with free food and order a water, crawl in one of those clothes drop bins in the middle of the night (you can get some real neat shit out of those metal boxes). Steal stuff from your neighbors garage and have a rummage sale the next morning. Hey I could go on and on. hehe, When the time is right you WILL get back into it. Good luck and I am sure we will hear from you again Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkM 0 #12 August 3, 2004 Quoteyour not alone with the money thingee. It took me 4 years to get off student status. Yeah, took me 4 years too. I saved up for a chunk of training, bought all my gear, got stable in my job, paid off some IRS stuff and my car and got to where I can jump like I want. There's a lot of things you can do without in life. Use a cheap run down car and that'll save you a 250+ a month car payment. Maybe live somewhere cheaper and that'll save a hundred or two off of rent(or get a roommate). 250-500 a month buys a decent amount of jump tickets. It's not always about how much money you make, sometimes it's about how many expenses you have in your life. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmsmith 1 #13 August 3, 2004 Spend your time and money getting a college degree; it will be the smartest thing you ever did when you look back on it. Without it you'll be giving up even more later in life: the lean ladies, your physical and mental health including your teeth, and that's just for starters. Look around...it's not a pretty sight being a loser. BTW, Dan, you are simply postponing skydiving until you can do it right! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
windcatcher 0 #14 August 3, 2004 Hey Dan- I first experienced this sport 3 years ago, and it's looking like this is the year I will get my A license. The point is, I didn't give up, and my passion just grew stronger for the sport, because being away from it yet longing to jump, makes me appreciate every jump I make. I was gonna save up a couple thousand dollars and THEN start retraining, but I decided that I would much rather just start the sport right away and though I may progress slower without a whole lotta cash saved, at least I'll be able to make a few jumps a month until after college, when I meet a handsome pilot who'll pay for my jumps and I have a real job! Besides, maybe the time isn't right just yet; I know it's time for me to jump,when I was 18 I may have been a little too crazy to be around that many guys at the dz. Anyways, if you're supposed to jump it'll happen- don't let money be an obstacle in the way of your dreams. Blessings! Sarah Mother to the cutest little thing in the world... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Airman1270 0 #15 August 4, 2004 It appears part of the problem is this whole attitude toward "recurrency", which ASSumes you'll forget all you've learned if you stay on the ground for more than a month or two. Sure, you have no business getting on a night 24-way, but if you've graduated from the student program, you're capable of making a safe jump following a layoff, without enduring redundant "retraining" or spending a bunch of extra money. Due to various factors, including money and long day trips to distant DZ's, my student career spanned 53 jumps in over two years. I was a good student and had few setbacks, but it wasn't unusual for anywhere from two to six weeks or more to pass between jumps. Even when I had less than 20 jumps I was able to pick up where I'd left off, without all this hand-wringing about "recurrency." After graduation, I continued to average fewer than 40 jumps per year. It is possible to enjoy this sport and advance. albeit slower than your peers, even if you can't spend every weekend at the DZ, but it's not always easy trying to convince people who make more than 200 jumps per year that you're not necessarily a hole in the ground waiting to happen. Cheers, Jon S. A-9459 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 19 #16 August 4, 2004 Congrats on making a smart decision. I have seen jumpers go into massive debt just to keep jumping. Take as much time off as needed. The skies will always be there. Make smart decisions about your money now and you will be able to anything you want to later.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chutem 0 #17 August 4, 2004 Did you say "on the air" 7 days a week. You should try to hook some kind of promotion up with the DZ and the station. There has got to be value for all partys involved there somehow. Maybe a weekly episode of throw dan out of the plane. You talking about skydiving on air must be great publicity. You do "spread the word" on air don't you? James Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
themitchyone 0 #18 August 4, 2004 There were times during AFF and after when I was only doing one jump a month. Nothing about the sport is inexpensive. Doing some sort of recurrency jump shouldn't stop you from coming back."If the Bible has taught us nothing else, and it hasn't, it's that girls should stick to girl's sports such as hot oil wrestling and foxy boxing." - Homer Simpson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnny1488 1 #19 August 4, 2004 If you work 7 days a week and cant afford to jump, quit your job. Move to a dz for a year and work however you can. See which one makes you happy. Everone here says skydiving will always be there, but so will the real world. I cut away this spring and now work on the dz, I have less money and am much happier with many aspects of my life. If jumping makes you happy, do what you need to to jump. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 19 #20 August 4, 2004 Are you jumping more before or after your cutaway?Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnny1488 1 #21 August 4, 2004 probabyl before, but I am much happier with the jumpping I am doing now. I could jump more now but I havent decided what I am doing for the winter yet, so I am storing some money away. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dj-seus 0 #22 August 5, 2004 greets first off, i have recieved tons of PM's from people offering advice, help, and even coach dives for the price of the slots! so THANK YOU to everyone - i'm not used to having this much support... the GOOD NEWS is - I got a raise today! yes, i discussed it with the general manager of the radio station, and he decided that he likes me much better when i skydive regularly... so i got a raise, which means i can come back to the air in a few weeks! it will be a slow progression to my A license, but my #1 goal is to have fun - i'm unstoppable! oh, and as far as a promotion with the radio station goes, the DZO at my home is a great guy, and last time i did a promotion with him (did a live on-air skydive) it went really well... so we'll see what happens... hope to see ya in the skies and thanks again! -dan P.S. - folks living in Chicago - i'll be in your neck of the woods this weekend, performing at an event called "Wonka 3" - info is at http://www.flavourchicago.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pwert 0 #23 August 8, 2004 you might also try IAD or Static line training... usually much cheaper, but still a great time.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tattoojeff 0 #24 August 9, 2004 WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERES A WAY. NUFF SAID Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plowdirt 0 #25 August 9, 2004 You might want to try bring a tandem get a jump deal, My DZ used to do that, but now it's 2 tandems get a jump Bring one get a hop n pop. Live advertising sounds like a great idea too. E Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites