DrDom

I don't love corvettes but that 62... yeah... we should have a bake sale to save it and get it cleaned up. You are not the contents of your wallet.

I don't know how you guys sleep. I'm trying not to hyperventilate and pass out the whole time... You are not the contents of your wallet.

There's your problem right there. The libtards in Boulder don't use rational thought. At the risk of stating the obvious, Boulder is never going to be a good place to try to open a dropzone. Take your money and effort somewhere else. This whole thing is akin to trying to open a gun store in the middle of San Francisco, next to a daycare. Good luck! If there's one thing there isn't a shortage of in Colorado it's open space... seriously, go somewhere else and let the dirty hippies have their pot stores, shitty parking, poor freeway access, and unplowed streets filled with stranded Priuses. Part of being a successful business owner is location selection... if I wanted to open a used bicycle shop or buy some rental property to lease to trust-fund babies and liberal-arts majors at ludicrous rates, I'd choose Boulder. Otherwise, that city can suck-it IMO. Don't forget to open your vintage clothing store where you sell used garbage for more than most people buy designer brands new. I feel bad for the jumpers of Boulder though. But worse, if we back down too easily it sets precedent for other DZs to fall victim to similar events. Look at Skydive Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Probably will be gone. You are not the contents of your wallet.

I'm still a little confused about trespass. I do not see how a DZO, pilot, or anyone could really be considered a facilitator of trespass when it is obvious that a skydiver does not WANT to land off-site. It is an emergency when it happens. Its like asking your police to stop crime 100%. Unreasonable expectation. If an airplane lands in someone's back yard they don't get cited for trespass; and if the local airport has it happen more than once its an issue with the pilots not the airport. This is all silliness. Also the noise ordinance should be brought up in court as well. If this went to court there is a reasonable expectation it could be thrown out early by the judge. Question is on costs to fight it for a C182 DZ. You are not the contents of your wallet.

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.

Failure is not going back. What you are experiencing is "not meeting a standard", it is different. The bar is set very high on purpose and a LOT of people have repeated steps. Hell, I'm not current and will probably have to repeat a substantial part of my AFF. Honestly, I don't even care. You shouldn't either. Its unnatural to exit an airplane. It's scary. Its a lot to learn and not a lot of time. There is little room for certain errors. You jumped. You landed. You have stuff to work on. End of story. You. Did. Not. Fail. You are not the contents of your wallet.

What year? You are not the contents of your wallet.

My life insurance covers skydiving and aviation but excludes BASE jumping, SCUBA (unless I get a separate rider), and also excludes a lot of countries outside the first world. You can always buy a second insurance policy to cover sports but you'll be paying extra. AS a self insured person... this may be tough; if you can get into an HSA its "catastrophe" insurance (which is one of my policies, my wife has a more traditional one) so that if I have more than $6000 in health expenses I'm only on the hook for the first $6000 and I can put money into a HSA pre-tax (lowers my tax burden) and I just make sure to keep my account full. On a personal account (non-family) the deductible I believe is down to $3000. But it covers NOTHING else, so you see your doc, you pay them from your HSA up to the deductible. They are usually pretty cheap plans so you could supplement your existing with one. You are not the contents of your wallet.

A lot of "sprains" are avulsion fractures and what we know is they do just fine if you dont beat up on it. If your landings are soft, could you jump? Sure. Would I, personally? No. If you beat up the fracture piece too much it can lead to chronic arthritis. You'll also favour your other side subconsciously which will also impact your landings and the OTHER ankle's long term. I would say if you can jump off a box or something wihtout ANY pain... you can feel comfortable jumping. I'm no orthopaedist, and the advice is free... :) You are not the contents of your wallet.

oh god this is hilarious... I'm just using the visual and... I just snarfed my coffee I was told "When people look like ants: PULL. When ants look like people: PRAY" You are not the contents of your wallet.

Depends on your definition of "good effect". I tried them on and felt like about 60 degrees was being trimmed off my field of vision. And the software was buggy as hell (I've heard they released a patch a while back.) It's a neat idea (I suppose) but not anything I'd ever actually wear while skydiving. This was actually something I've been wondering about since I ordered a set for paramotoring but not sure I'd be willing to use them skydiving. I used just the goggles the other day without the HUD and found my vision restricted. I had not worn goggles in a long time but after just using it snowshoeing... I think I'm not too keen on jumping them... You are not the contents of your wallet.

I'm with this line of logic... Don't do things because you're going to die someday Do things because you want to LIVE! You are not the contents of your wallet.

Well, I did my airborne school in the army and didn't love it; that was in 1997. In about 2000 a few friends and I were bored and I said "we should go skydiving". weathered out and I got busy with school... so they went later and I never did. They have C and D licenses respectively now and I... well... was reminded last year that their addiction was my fault and I was letting life get in the way of fun so I grabbed a buddy and we did a tandem. He didn't ever want to go back; I was hooked. You are not the contents of your wallet.

Honestly you need to call around because many places offer tiers, riders, and all kinds of madness. You should contact the USPA, they have insurance specialists who helped me find life/disability that covered high risk and I bet they know who can do some. Its a hard market right now with everyone being VERY skittish around the ACA. You are not the contents of your wallet.

your packer was intentionally trying to hurt you? thats pretty messed up. You are not the contents of your wallet.

I wonder if Kevlar pants would help for those slide in landings... You are not the contents of your wallet.

You have 2300 level 4 jumps? Wow, that is persistence. Oh god that was hilarious... You are not the contents of your wallet.

I have a VERY good friend who jumps regularly at Lodi that I can put you in touch with and will give you a good idea of the place (and an honest one). He has been trying to get me to jump there and finish my AAF; I guess the DZ isnt USPA but the instructors are... Anyhow, if you want PM me and I can put you in touch with someone who may be able to give you an idea of the attitudes there. You are not the contents of your wallet.

just curious, did you talk to your instructors after the jump and did they have any advice? Your instructors are a wealth of knowledge and that should be used to your maximum advantage. Internet advice is free, and sometimes you get what you pay for. You are not the contents of your wallet.

I'm still a student, and CERTAINLY no sky-god... so I can't provide you advice how to get "better" but I can say that I think it was put best that you did NOT "Fail"... you simply did not succeed. We get very caught up in our culture that if you aren't perfect you failed. But realize the only person you are trying to compete with is yourself. If you love the sky, which it sounds like you do, then just go and remember that you didn't "fail"... you simply did not meet a VERY high standard in a VERY short time. I see this in people I road race with, they aren't first so they think they aren't good drivers. You know what, some are amazing drivers, and all of us cut a corner wrong and spun here and there. The "victory" will be getting back up there, not just going through the levels. One of my best friends "quit" after jump 1 when he became completely altitude unaware and his instructor had to pull for him. Now he has a D license and is a gifted individual in the sky. Keep at it :) You are not the contents of your wallet.

I got cold feet for Jump 7. Couldn't even manifest. Not sure why, but now regret it. Its been months because of weather and I'm trying to find the nerve to start over. But the funny thing is that in my MIND I know that I just need the exposure to it; but there is that little emotional center in my unconscious that says "whaaaat? no... seriously no. nononononoooooo..." The psychiatric term for what you need to do comes in 2 varieties: Saturation therapy or systematic desensitization. Both work for different reasons and the end result is often the same. In saturation therapy you simply exposure yourself to the unpleasant stimulus as often as possible. Eventually your brain stops associating this "abnormal" event as "normal". This seems to be what most people advocate and is not a bad idea at all. In systematic desensitization you basically approach the thing that scares you slowly and in controlled situations. I'm going this way since saturation didn't work yet. Wind tunnel, flight lessons, and now powered paragliding. I'm hoping then I can saturate the rest. Why do I talk so damn long about this? Because I'm going through it too, and we will ALL get through it :) We're in this together... otherwise I have one friend threatening to bring a jar of spiders on the jump plane (trust me... I'd jump) You are not the contents of your wallet.

I will just recommend hiring a camera person. Its a video you will save for the rest of your life As an amateur I'm not allowed a camera on my helmet for a few hundred jumps because of safety reasons. Just realize most tandem students dont even wear a helmet (I think it is to prevent you from bashing the instructor) and a camera would be more you could hit him in the face with (or her... sorry ladies!). Anyhow, chest strap would be the best but the POV cameras are "cool" sometimes... but the view of you exiting the door strapped to your instructor as you become a meat missile is priceless footage you only get once. You are not the contents of your wallet.

I've spent a bit of time in the tunnel as well, cheap used suit is what I'm in since learning how to back/sit fly has REALLY caused me to hit the net many a times and it does work the suit hard. I use a Cookie Fuel helmet because... frankly... I like the open face. But I've also used the G3 which I like. You are not the contents of your wallet.

I'm trying to classify this post. Is it silly like my posts and the poster is being funny? Or it it dumb because the poster is a skydiver trying to give medical advice? It's a tough call. I'll go with the second choice. I would agree I will say that I think a month is too short. The sternum should be well healed and at 1 month you are not quite there. I would say 6 months minimum and that would be aggressive, if it were my patient I'd tell 12 months and unil they can run a few miles with no problems (and after a few echoes). my 2 cents YMMV You are not the contents of your wallet.

You could always learn to pack and work as a packer but I'm not sure how much you get paid for it. Otherwise, save those pennies and make that dream a reality! You are not the contents of your wallet.