DrDom

Excellent article with ability to extrapolate even beyond just the DZ; thanks for taking the time to put that into words!

Someone owes a LOT of Beer. a lot. DJBillyD... why are you here if you could not see the value of jumping from a plane? go enjoy your bowling or golf.

This is great info really. I think most of us forget it is a business but thinking back to MY tandem; I jumped, I landed, I was ushered into the gift shop and was handed a bunch of stuff (it was a nice certificate, some plain-paper info with coupon, and my video). They quickly described the discounts and then were gone.
I was so euphoric I would have signed up for FJC right then and probably bough a shirt, mug, and who knows what else. Instead I left and... didn't get back for months.
Tandems themselves are big money, but a student jumping at the DZ can be a lifetime of income for that owner and operation. We need to reach them a bit better for certain.

Although I generally apply the metric system in the realm of the sciences, it can be done and easily converted if needed. This is an excellent post and the physics behind freefall is elegant to say the least. log base e and cosh is the hyperbolic function I believe.
I digress though, this is one exceptional post because I'm such a physics nerd and this makes me ponder the sky in ways other than "jump, fall, pull, flare, repeat". Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant. Thank you :)

ARMA 3 has halo insertions and helo drops

I was starting to feel burned out as an ER doc and hospital administrator. Getting inefficient, bitter, and often just feeling hopeless. Took a tandem jump and it changed my world. I see things differently. Now I'm signed up for my AFF because I realized in "life" I have no ability to escape work... but once I hit the DZ, the phone goes to "off", the mind clears, and its just me and my fear of heights. More people should really do this...