DrDom

Super agree. I love it when my AFF students get some tunnel time prior to level 1. I didn't tell my AFFI's I spent over an hour in the tunnel before my first jump. They didn't call me out until 4... but said it really does make a difference. I also liked knowing what I would feel BEFORE I felt it. Really made me more comfortable once we were out. Tunnel tunnel tunnel. Always money well spent. You are not the contents of your wallet.

Landed alive = not fail Screw up exit = room for improvement I wont get to a DZ until next summer... am going to actually start over from step one since its been so long. Glad to see you guys hammering out jumps! I think I have to start earlier than August in order to get enough time in. I only did 7 jumps in 3 months :\ You are not the contents of your wallet.

Sounds like a doctor who doesn't understand the sport of skydiving. I don't know about you but my landings are less traumatic to my knees and ankles than running any real distance. Most doctors (myself included) do understand skydiving and realize that it is not a zero impact sport. Once you are out of the plane you are at the mercy of nylon and nature. There is always the chance of a gust on landing, sudden no wind switch, turbulence.. more variable than running up and down mountains. I am not trying to downplay your comment but realize docs are conservative. if he clears you to jump and you get hurt... you could make an argument for bad advice and open him to lawsuit. We are VERY conservative now that lawyers dictate what we do. As for me... I can't say I "quit" the sport as left for a while to try and overcome my fears. I still have a lot of fear. Strangely its just the door and the 5 seconds after. Other than that, I'm fine. Money is not an issue (I don't want to be the best, or even compete!) since you can't put a price on euphoria. Its not about the DZ, because I jump for me. I have friends who skydive, I have friends who don't'. If people lost a connection with me because I stopped... that is OK. It happens. Anyhow, It is a good post, I hope you all are out jumping :) As safely as possible. You are not the contents of your wallet.

I, too, am waiting to hear! I did not jump this summer... took up Paramotoring and it just... got in the way of time and money (and maybe my door fear got the better of me?). But it is nice to hear people pushing through the barriers of the door and the freefall and being SUCCESSFUL! You are not the contents of your wallet.

A lot of people talk in terms of success and failure; think of it as a pending-success or opportunity to overcome a limitation. You know what is failure? I didn't finish my one jump to clear AFF last year and didn't jump this year. What you did is... well... procrastinating? A speed bump? Its not failure. When I have med students... which are some of the hardest perfectionists to deal with... I oft have to remind them to slow down and look at ONE goal at a time. For you: maybe comfort at the DZ is a first goal. Maybe just learning to have fun with it and not stress numbers and ratings, which can be "secondary pursuits". Its really your call but it sounds like you have some lofty goals, and WILL meet them but otherwise... just have some fun with it, find your love again, and it will naturally progress! You are not the contents of your wallet.

Hi LOF Is the dz going to return the balance of the $1,000 that's left over after deducting the cost of your tandem.? Thats what I'm wondering. OK, so he wants you to take up paragliding instead since you'll be nauseated under canopy for longer? I don't quite understand that logic. Motion sickness under SCUBA is one of the most dangerous and disorienting things imaginable. If it were me, and its not... so take with a grain of salt... go do another tandem but ask if it can be a teaching tandem where you control the toggles. My tandem (which was actually before I decided I wanted to do AFF) I was immediately handed the toggles and he held the lines and talked me through turns all the way ultil we were in pattern. We did ONE spiral, the rest of the time it was just "lets make a slow 180 left" "lets practice a gentle flare" "lets fly brakes a few" "now lets go 90 right". I asked why he did that and he said that it saved him a lot of vomit cleanup to put people in control and direct them unless they either wanted "a wild ride" or were not able to control (nerves, confusion, etc). I can easily get motion sick in a car when my wife drives (its her, not me), but I do OK under canopy. I paraglide and paramotor as well and can say that I would probably rather be motion sick under a parachute than a paraglider only because your descent rate is so low and if you are up thermalling you could hit a few thousand feet before you're able to descend. Maybe not ridge flying, but then you just have to make it to an LZ and its a lot longer. Otherwise, I agree you should get your cash back for the unused time if they are unable to accomodate you. You are not the contents of your wallet.

My favourite exit will be the next one I'm able to accomplish. Been over a year now since I nearly finished AFF and I'm eager to go but terrified to jump again. The door kills me. but so far, I just think the coolest thing was climbing out on the 182 and just holding the strut waiting to let go. Something about being outside the plane and just BEING there was beautiful. Being in the plane is so much less interesting. I took an extra second out there to just take it all in before my 7th jump... and it is just breathtaking. I've never felt closer or more connected to the world around me. You are not the contents of your wallet.

Sounds like a Galeazzi fracture, glad your recovery went so well! I have to get back up as well.. good for you for getting back up! You are not the contents of your wallet.

I did a tandem only to "remove the new-factor" from skydiving. It helped. All I had to do was fall the first time. AFF had a lot going on and I wanted to make sure I didn't have to mix novelty with performance. I thought it was a good choice. You are not the contents of your wallet.

The biggest problem will be the same as most electric cars (I have a tesla so am used to this): RECHARGE TIME. Unless you can hot swap batteries you really will need more time between jumps or more planes. The regenerative braking is a tiny amount of endurance in my car and would imagine the same in a plane. If you could "supercharger" rig a plane it would be useful. Filling a plane still lakes less time than a charge. with that in mind, if there were a viable small electric plane I'd buy one and let you guys jump it! I'm working on a light enough electric paramotor... You are not the contents of your wallet.

Congrats! I have normal hearing but severe tinnitus so I wear hearing protection at all times. I could not hear the radio with them in on my first jump so under canopy i wiggled one earplug out... and couldnt understand the radio. couldnt tell if I was being told left or right, figured it out by learning what his "MPRFF" sounded like and once I turned right and heart "MPRFF! MPRFF!" i turned left and understoof "good!". that word was left, if I heard something else i assumed "right". lol. I knew on final all I would hear was "flare" so I just listened best I could knowing "wait for it" was first and then "flare flare flare". I also learned how to PLF really well ;) You are not the contents of your wallet.

antidepressants are never better than placebo and if you read about "tardive dysphoria" they can actually make depression worse in the long run. Only therapy helps, and dietary modification/exercise. Big Pharma will tell you there is a cure, but most depression is lifestyle. Get your Vitamin D checked and your testosterone levels as well... You are not the contents of your wallet.

Aviation and skydiving are not very different... would you put a PP student up solo if they could not perform at ground school? We should be setting a very high standard before we lob someone out of a plane. An unsafe student is dangerous to himself and both the instructors who have to wrestle and dump him. You are not the contents of your wallet.

Flaring high you probably have the same issues as I did when I started (I'm landing a lot more paragliders lately but the same ideas apply) which is LOOKING DOWN. Its a hard habit to break because we want to know when the ground is going to be "there". But you have to realize one thing: You'll flare high if you look down. Look to the horizon and get used to the picture. My first skydive landings I have great video with me CLEARLY looking down (jump 5? I think) and I don't remember doing it. Made great PLFs though. Jump 6 was the first time I actually looked forward and it still has been my only un-assisted stand up landing. Paramotoring I also had the habbit, but the nice thing about it was that I could just take off and try again right away if I didn't hit too hard. My first few I flared high, then I had a slammer or two when I landed late, and finally I started looking ahead and the sight picture works now. Look forward. Also, 3-stage flare? Is this common in skydiving? We do it in paragliding (position 1 at 20 feet, 2 at 10 feet, all the way down at 3 feet) but I was taught "hands up, lots of speed, FLARE FLARE FLARE" for skydiving... You are not the contents of your wallet.

Start with a valsalva maneuver, if that isn't helping you need to see an ENT specialist. You probably do have some degree of middle ear barotrauma; worse case they could even put a tympanostomy tube in to relieve the pressure (they have temporary ones that fall out after a few days/weeks). If you had blown the eardrum you would actually have no pain, this is a benign injury that heals without problems; its the fact it did NOT tear that leaves all that pressure in. You are not the contents of your wallet.

You can never have enough aircraft safety. I have to agree there needs to be a LOT more education and re-education on airplane safety. They are beautiful but can be deadly... You are not the contents of your wallet.

I think most pilots make it look easy so the perception is "oh they are just flying up and opening door then landing". But that "good spot" is not easy, getting it just right is finesse, and repeating that over and over is hard. Love your pilots. I never met the otter pilot but wish I did. The C182 pilot I had was an exceptional human being, though I have to admit I was the only one jumping the morning he took us up so I only did 2 jumps in like 3 hours... he could have cooked a meal and taken a nap between my student jumps ;) You are not the contents of your wallet.

A few things, since I deal with a lot of customer service and interpersonal workplace issues and residency training... Three sides to every story: yours, theirs, and the truth. That, and it is impossible to know what the exact issue was without seeing it as an observer. To you maybe he/she was a jerk, to them maybe you were "difficult". Maybe he had a bad day. Maybe you took something wrong. Maybe he was just a hardass and that is his teaching style. Maybe he is just a dick. The reality is that instructors come in more flavours than ice cream. I was told at my FJC in no uncertain terms that if you did not like the instructor just let them know and they would hook you up with another course from someone else. It wasn't because one sucks and the others are awesome, but because personal chemistry varies. Admittedly I liked all my instructors for my jumps sans one who I just didn't "hit it off with". He was nice, but his only advice was "your arch sucks, the rest is fine" and he went and took the next student out. I felt a little forgotten later to be told he would have said more if I had more problems but he just "fixes the issues". Not bad, but I just needed more feedback and I felt he was over busy and detached. Everyone else who had him thought it was great. Chemistry goes a long way. So.. what do you do then? Well, you can talk to the school and ask for a different instructor if available; you can change DZs (may not be possible in all places, but in New England there are just a lot within an hour drive), or you can give up. If you let one personality turn you off of the sport then it is better now than later since there are a LOT of personalities in skydiving. Its the only place a mechanic, a politician, a celebrity, a doctor, a secretary, a firefighter, and a waitress can all rub elbows on true equal footing. You're all meat missiles hell bent on a mix of survival and excitement. But, despite that, there are opinions, there are attitudes, egos, personalities, etc. You don't have to love all of them but you do need to sometimes have thick skin. Anyhow, don't let it get you down if you really like it. Just realize there are options just like any business. You are not the contents of your wallet.

I had line twists on jump 2, its NOT a big deal. I looked up and gave a kick and was back in business. Big slow docile canopies wont turn or dive or get crazy. The malfunctions from twists that are super scary are on highly loaded small canopies. You will be a long ways to these. Don't fear downwind, just try not to end up in a circumstance when you need to make one ;) But in all seriousness the single best thing I learned was how to PLF and not be afraid to PLF. It will save your legs. I did 2 PLFs on my first landings, then I stood one up, the next 3 were also PLF because one I flared high (oops) and the other 2 were NO WIND landings which were a lot hotter than my previous ones. In addition you will not be jumping in high wind so downwind will still not be TOO fast. No high performance turns when you get into pattern (it prevents the "impact from low turn", and also will make sure your AAD doesnt fire). But the single epically important bit of advice is to pay 100% or more attention to EVERYTHING your instructor says. It will be a lot. Ask questions, slow him/her down,but they will get you through it. I had as much or more concern with my first jumps and my instructors got me through it without a hitch. A little dirt but no hitch. You are not the contents of your wallet.

Hey guys, I saw in our mag that there IS a way to track in the tunnel. Tracking seems to be my weakest student skill right now and I'm wondering if anyone has tried this before or has experience with it. I'm going to be using the guys from the local camp to help me out but wanted to know... IS it worth it? You are not the contents of your wallet.

I have friends who jump at Davis and Lodi who both like the palces. I know Lodi has USPA instructors though the DZ is NOT (last I heard) USPA. You are not the contents of your wallet.

I have yet to have an unassisted stand up landing (i.e. off radio) and want to thank everyone for the advice as well as the OP posing the question. I've flared high (was probable 10 feet up, I'm glad I can PLF well) I flared low after that (overcompensation?) and also landed hard then I landed in mud and I think my flare was good but in no wind when I tried to run it out I hit and went up to my knees in mud. Awesome. Faceplant. anyhow, hopefully I'll stand one up someday, but the info here is really REALLY appreciated! You are not the contents of your wallet.

I use a pair of ski goggles (with one of those neat Recon Labs Heads up Displays) with my powered paragliding and can say they are NOT comfortable and REALLY hot. They restrict a lot of my vision and I often take them off and put on regular sunglasses while in flight. I have a pair of goggles I got from chutingstar and they fit nice, no restriction, and I've actually taken to wearing them doing PPG. That, and if I lose my diving goggles its about $20-$30; if I lose my HUD its a few hundred for the googles and a few hundred more for the HUD... that isnt as awesome as I hoped... You are not the contents of your wallet.

As a doc I would never sleep with a patient. Even my ER patients who I see for a few minutes and will never see again... never ever ever. Even when I was single. Its an issue with being in a position of power over someone else who looks up to you for support and guidance. They are scared, a student, you just kept them alive.... you have more psychological control than you know. Granted, I dated a politician once and she had some "say" over budgeting for my hospital. Talk about me feeling powerless to end it with fear something bad would happen. She was such a good person in the end (rare for a politician) and was a doll in the breakup... but despite that the POWER disparity was hard. I think if you get to know a student... great... but as an instructor you should be professional about it and keep it clean until you are not their instructor any more. You should not treat your students preferentially... you should treat them all equal. Is it "wrong"? No. Not really. You're all adults and unless your DZ has rules about it... go ahead. But I will say from an "ethical" standpoint I think its at least unprofessional and some in the psychology would would say you have a power and control disparity that can't be ignored. If you REALLY want to do it right, assign them another AFFI and hook up with them all you want. Then there is NO conflict, its classy and responsible, and makes you look pro. just my 2 cents. At the end of the day, we're all adults, and as long as its consensual, my opinion is just my opinion... and oft is not something everyone agrees with ;) You are not the contents of your wallet.

TEL (lead) is rapidly absorbed through skin so realize you should not touch 100LL directly. Breathing it... I would have to agree the exposure is STILL minimal. JetA has no lead. It is correct it is basically kerosene. If anyone is REALLY concerned, go to your doc and request a lead level. You can see your exposure. I use 100LL in my paramotor and i'll check my lead level at end of season.... will be interesting. You are not the contents of your wallet.