kenthediver

A 'Plummet' of skydivers

YAY!!! Find a sugar daddy and no worries, jump as often as you want and flatten his account!

John, tickets bought. Great cause. Will you contact us overseas folk to arrange delivery? Cheers, Ken

In the UK you can do sponsored tandems if you jump on behalf of a charity, with friends, work colleagues and family sponsoring you. Is that not something to explore?

I wrote about my experiences with them - 3rd or 4th page pf this forum - I recommend them - but it is where I have trained. Other people will no doubt recommend where they trained. All the DZ's will be good - find where you feel comfortable and go there! It's your money - your life - your decision.

Not jumping there...they just used up ALL their luck for the next millennium!

Yonskil, depends if you want a BPA or USPA licence. I think the only 2 in europe that do BPA (ouotside of UK) is FFU and EmpuriaBrava. Costs will be similar. You need to also factor in - costs of consolidation jumps (10 of them!), costs of re-doing any level of AFF - maybe budget for 1 or 2 - if you get through without any re-jumps then you are quids in, look at food and beer (beer is very important!!), and also daily transfers to the DZ - Ocana charge - IIRC - 9 euros a day transfer. Good luck.

SHB, I will have to try that - sounds good!!

Tinka, Netheravon (Salisbury) is probably between 45 mins and an hour from you - (SHB - would Nethers not be easier for you?) I trained at FFU (there is a longggg write-up about my experience on the 3rd or 4th page of this forum - it should give you a pretty good idea about what to expect. Lots of folks experience sensory overload - symptoms can include all sorts of things including "not breathing" - it will get better! Last point, consider where you will end up jumping, spend time there just mooching around and chatting, and find out what they want from you. Most DZ's dont mind where you train. Most of all, listen, observe, have fun and stay alive! Oh, and expect lots of male attention! Mostly it is just banter, but.....

Hi scoop, Teardrop Viper container, Spectre 210 Main and a 210 reserve, tried it on before handing over my cash, it all looked ok to me, (no scuffs or frayed lines or tears in the canopy, but hey, I am by no means an expert, so it is in for a full inspection and reserve repack in Nethers! Rig and canopy are all black!! (Most important is looking cool! )

Hi Tinkabelltyson, welcome. Where will you be jumping? There are quite a few UK posters on here, so no doubt at some stage you will meet up with some - for jumping! Agree with SHB, learn to relax and enjoy! It is amazing! Also, when you do tunnel time, tell teh tunnel instructors that you intend to do sky-diving, the tasks are ever so slightly different - they can show you to do some practice pulls, not just stable and turning. Have fun Ken

Mike, Lots written hear about the fact that you can get up to 200 jumps subsidised by the NZ government if you attend a jump school in NZ IIRC it applies to Aus and NZ citizens - there are threads dedicated to it. Not sure what the criteria are to access the subsidy but....it could be worth checking. Good luck Ken

theonlyski / strife, thanks for that. Collecting the rig tonight! Yeehah! Cheaper jumps!!!! Now if only the weather would improve!

I all. Just put a deposit down on a rig, and collecting and paying it off on mondayevening. Whatpaperwork should accomplish a rig? Inspection and riggerpacks documentation? Any ideas? Thanks

How to kill an eel! Little Johnny was 7 years old, and like other boys his age, rather curious. He had been hearing quite a bit about courting from other boys and he wondered what it was and how it was done. One day he took his questions to his mother, and she became flustered. Instead of explaining things to Johnny she told him to hide behind the curtains one night and watch his older sister and her boyfriend. This he did, and the following morning Johnny described everything to his mother. Sis and her boyfriend sat and talked for awhile, then he turned off most of the lights. Then he started to kiss and hug her, I figured sis must be getting sick because her face started looking funny. He must have thought so too because he put his hand inside her blouse to feel her heart, just like the doctor would. Except he's not as good as the doctor, because he seemed to have trouble finding her heart. He was getting sick too, because pretty soon both of them started panting and getting all out of breath. His other hand must have been getting cold because he put it under her skirt. About this time, sis got toward the end of the couch. This was when the fever started. I know it was a fever because sis told him she was really HOT. Finally, I found out what was making them so sick.... a big eel had gotten inside his pants somehow. It just jumped out of his pants and stood there about 9 inches long. HONEST! anyway, he grabbed it in one hand to keep it from getting away. When sis saw it she got really scared. Her eyes big and her mouth fell open, and she started calling out to God and stuff like that. I should tell her about the ones I saw at the lake! "Anyway", sis got brave and tried to kill the eel by bitting its head off. All of a sudden, she made a noise and let the eel go... I guess it bit her back. Then she grabbed it with both hands and held it tight while he took a muzzle out of his pocket and slipped it over the eels head to keep it from biting again. Sis lay back and spread her legs so she could get a scissor lock on it. And he helped by laying on the top of the eel. The eel put up a hell of a fight. Sis started groaning and squealing and her boyfriend almost upset the couch. I guess they wanted to kill the eel by squishing it between them. After a while they both quit moving and gave a great sigh. Her boyfriend sat up and sure enough they had killed the eel... I knew it was dead because it just hung there limp and some of its insides were hanging out. Sis and her boyfriend were a little tired from the battle, but they went on courting anyway. He started hugging and kissing her again. And by golly, the eel wasn't dead after all. It jumped straight up and started to fight again. I guess eels are like cats.... they have nine lives or something. This time sis jumped up and tried to kill the eel by sitting on it. After about 35 minutes of struggle, they finally killed the eel. I know it was dead this time because I saw sis's boyfriend peel off the skin and flush it down the toilet. Mother fainted.

not so much a swear word - but more like insults - You must be a twin - you are too stupid for 1 person (ooops - thats you - and myself as well ); or - you are as confused as a cameleon on a smartie box

Invited. Enjoy.

Ken - PM me your FB details and I will add you to the group. Also, where in the UK will you be jumping?

Btw, look up thr ffu dropouts page on facebook for loads of folk who have trained and re-visit ffu when possible.

Hi skymama, Freefall university and skydive madrid are both based in Ocana airport, same planes, same kit, FFU is mostly english and SD Madrid mainly spanish, IIRC same owner.

Hi Ken. My son and I did our AFF there - story is on page 3 of the intro and greets I think - great place (and snap, I am also a Ken!). Contact Darren and arrange the student accomodation - clean, dry and reasonably priced. Also, he will arrange transport from Madrid airport or Arunjuez station, as well as daily commutes to the DZ. Listen, learn, and enjoy! Oh, and buy beer!!!!

ha ha - any excuse to get the missus into bed!! We all know that you bailed in order to get a leg over! lol

Followed your link to Skydive Carolina - you need to confirm with them, but the way AFF in Europe works is - and this assumes NO repeats which are an additional cost! -: Jumps 1 - 7 - Instructors jump with you to assist during the jump and tutor you on ground, Jump 8 - 18 (I know you have slightly less which is why you need to check with Caroline) Instructors do ground tuition, canopy control and will supervise from the ground if required. During jump 8 - 18 you will also do a hop and pop. For BPA, upon signoff by an instructor, the MINIMUM number of jumps is 18, you will get your A licence. I believe that for USPA A licence you need 25 jumps in total for an A licence - which include some relative work. (RW comes later for BPA licence holders!). BUt as a diff poster said, call them. I had been calling DZ's for nearly 3 months - and I called and visited a number of DZ's before committing. Its your money, make an informed decision. Its your life, make the decision based on safety, not on cheapness.

Hi there. I did my AFF in Ocana (you can read my story in the Intro and Greets section!) Bryn Chaffe was an instructor there at the time - hence my recommendation. I took my eldest son there - twice! Always felt very safe. I have not jumped at EmpuriaBrava but have heard very good things about it. I suggest you contact the FFU (freefall university - Ocana - my trainers) as well as EmpuriaBrava and then decide. BPA is 18 jumps for A licence - and USPA is (I think - but please dont quote me) 25 jumps for A. Both are recognised world wide so it depends on your time and budget as to which you do. I have heard of some folk who have both so....You pay the money, its your choice! Good luck

Dan, Hibaldstow - one of the instructors there is Bryn Chaffe, a really good bloke. Would be good to do your AFF there, as he has started a residential school for 0 - 200 jumps - for folk who want to progress fast. Not sure if this would be an option for you, but if you do your AFF there, and you decide to go all out for this, then it would be really advantageous to continue your training there. As for spain, most of the DZ's have well qualified english speaking instructors. Decide whether you want BPA or USPA certification, and then choose the spanish DZ accordingly. (I did my AFF in Spain - not regretted it at all!) Finally, blue skies Ken