bialicki

They should of probably read the manual on how to use the GoPro before attempting bring it into the sky lol! That is pretty bad having to fiddle with it for that much AGL...

I was scared this might be the truth that I would have to break to him haha! Thank you for the info. Truth is he only had a few more jumps and should of stuck it through. Guess by the time he gets back over here it will be close to a year since his last jump.

To make a long story short I have a friend from Kuwait. I met him while going though STP training at Spaceland, TX he completed 13-15 jumps and I believe the story was he got a little freaked out under canopy because of turbulence. I got a message from him the other day asking about DZ's around me and if there was one I recommend. Being as I live in a area where DZ's only run on weekends and a part of the country where weather holds are more common then a sunny day I pointed him to places in FL. Now the real questions is with 13-15 jump under his belt... if he was to go to a place like Zhills or maybe just a smaller DZ how would they fit him into their program? Could he take an AFF class make a coached jump and then be out on his own till his 25 jumps where complete? Any and all advice is welcome!

Well when you are 18 and able to sign your life away to skydiving legally, then yes you should start there. I would suggest hang out around the DZ till then and learning how to pack and everything else about the sport. When the time comes to do a tandem and or just start AFF program you will be more ready the the average person, plus you will know how to pack! A-license allows you to jump solo at other DZ and or with other skydivers. Depending on the DZ and the program you go through you could be jumping solo with out an instructor after 8 or so jumps but you still require an A-license to jump with other skydivers. It does cost a lot of money! but once it's all said and done and paid for... you won't regret it! The first year is the most expensive because of training, gear rental, shelling out a large sum of cash for your own rig etc! It's worth every penny even though I'm broke right now and wishing I had all the money I spent... I know that next time I get on that plane it's going to cost me $25! Every time I talk to my friends who are in their 40's who just got their license say to me "wished I got into their earlier in life" so the earlier the better if it is really something you end up enjoying as much as the rest of us!

Hello and welcome forums! I will tell you exactly what I told ThreesAndSevens for AZ. Don't know if it helped him but this is what I said. On relaxing. Never think of the negative on the plane ride up, it will make you very UNrelaxed in freefall... think about how awesome your skydive will be, a song that gets you going, something funny that happen or a joke you heard AND smile a lot!!! If you are not smiling, you are not skydiving! that statement is true BTW. If your palms are flat while in free fall you are probably not relaxed. Also 60sec's in a long time, enough time to do whatever needs to be done. Just remember the A.I.R. rule Altitude aware, In control, Relaxed, if you are doing these things you shal be good! P.S. Remember everyone is different and these methods might not work for you, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Make things work for YOU!

On relaxing. Never think of the negative on the plane ride up, it will make you very UNrelaxed in freefall... think about how awesome your skydive will be, a song that gets you going, something funny that happen or a joke you heard AND smile a lot!!! If you are not smiling, you are not skydiving! that statement is true BTW. My instructor told me after I returned after 3 weeks of not jumping that my arch went to shit. To fix this he told me to fine a flat wall at home and stand about 16-18in from the wall, legs slightly apart as if in freefall and to push my pelvis out till I touch the wall and to say in arched position, head looking at the ceiling and to stand like that for 1 minute. Take a break and do it again multiple times though out the day. This will give you the feel for what kind of arch you need while in freefall. If your palms are flat while in free fall you are probably not relaxed. Also 60sec's in a long time, enough time to do whatever needs to be done. Just remember the A.I.R. rule Altitude aware, In control, Relaxed, if you are doing these things you shal be good! Good Luck, be safe and pull on time! P.S. Remember everyone is different and these methods might not work for you, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Make things work for YOU!

This is super good to know!

OMG Dom!!! I hope you slay that monster door sooner then later! You know I kept telling me self that my happy place was out side the plane and it helped me a lot! Remember the plane is less safe then skydiving... they say don't ever trust your AAD because its electronic, well so is the plane! All IMO... Thank you both Skymama and Boomerdog for the warm welcome! I will enjoy the new rig and I hope to catch you all in the sky one day!

Thank you! It's been quite the experience! Where are you at with your training Dom?

Hello fellow sky friends! Name is Isa from Tennessee, please don't feel like you have to read any of this because I'm just saying hello! But if you are interested, below is a little bit about my history in the sport and where I am today. I knew from the moment I left my first plane back in 2008, that I wanted nothing more then to become a skydiver and enjoy the feeling of human fight on a regular basis! I went back 3 more times that year including a single AFF. Due to the DZ being open, only on weekends, lots of weather holds and running out of money, skydiving became something that I once did. Nearly 5 years later with a job that can afford getting into the sport. I was on a vacation home from work and ran into a girl "friend" of mine. She put out there that we should do something while I was in town. Shortly after talking we agreed on skydiving and before long we where both loading up on the plane. Once I got home that day, I did research for a place that was open 7 days a week that could be flexible with my work schedule. I found a place, paid in full and told my self. "if after 25 jumps and achieving an A-license, I don't wanna continue jumping... at least I got that out of my system and I used all the money I spent without wasting it" Needless to say after 25 jumps, I was in the pro-shop ordering my rig and flight suit... the next day I was asking my self what the hell I just did?! That feeling passed the second I left the plane again! Though I was still scared shitless on the rides up over thinking life, family, etc. I finally broke and on my 32nd jump I made peace with skydiving and told my self not to fear, but to deal with each situation as it arises. I trained STP @ Skydive Spaceland, TX obtaining my license on 9/11 making it a happier day! Today I'm at 54 jumps and 3 weeks away from getting my rig, excited I am and will hopefully be finding new friends here (@ DZ.com) and at local DZs in the surrounding area! See you in the sky!

Well it was put like this to me one day while hanging out at the DZ. Me and some people where talking and I was saying that it's hard to go home at night and converse about my day with the regular people in my life (not other skydivers) because they don't understand and just are not genuinely interested. Staff Member was in the conversation and said "You won't get rid of your old friends, but you will make a lot of new ones and will hang less with your old ones!" That being said, the DZ is the place to get a whole new circle of friends!

Michael I was in your shoes not 2 months ago. Now I'm A licensed and got 54 jumps and my own gear on the way. I was Trained at Skydive Spaceland in TX. Which I recommend by the way! I met people from that came from long distances to learn there such as Kuwait, Sweden and other places not so far, like Washington, Mass and Virginia. My skydiving started on 2008, got some tandems in and one AFF, I ran out of money and due to weather holds, the DZ only being open on the weekends and me not being able to continue to jump daily to over come my fear, I left skydiving. This July I was back in town and ran in to one of my girl friends and she was like we should totally do something while you are in town. Throwing a few things out there, skydiving being one of them. That was choice! I went and fell in love all over again!!! Immediately started doing research for a place close to where I was going to be working that was open 7 days a week. I paid the $2400 in full and forced my self to go regardless of how scared I was for what ever reason. I told my self I will at least complete the program because I paid for it and if I no longer wanted to jump after that I would walk away an A licensed skydiver who decided never to jump again LOL! Obtaining my A license between work and other events took me two months. The best part though was that I could show up on a Wednesday and probably get a few jumps in and if there was for some reason a weather hold... return the next day and try again. With all this being said it took me a total of 32 jumps to make my peace with skydiving. I was doing things (on the way to the DZ and while on the plane) like thinking about my family, friends, my nephew and nieces and how if anything happen to me that I wouldn't get to be part of their life etc, etc and that I just wanted to be there for family and to watch these kids grow up! On my 32nd jump I was under canopy and said to my self "this is what I love doing and I'm going to keep doing it, so why be scared of what may never happen and if something did happen I would deal with it in the moment just like you would driving down the road" I told my self I would no longer think about the things and people I value most and worry. I was going to ware a smile and think about how awesome this skydive was going to be. Turn on some good music on your way to the DZ or call a friend and tell them what you are about to do. Once at the DZ smile, enjoy stories and let go of the plane and everything else because you know SKYDIVING is freaking awesome and you want to do it more then anything!