TheMan

I went to this website: http://www.uspa.org/USPAShop/tabid/353/pid/263/Default.aspx Why is it asking me for a membership # while I'm trying to establish a membership? Am I missing something here? I'm trying to join brand new, should I just skip the section for the membership #?

Gear came in and I jumped it today. All checks out and had an awesome first solo jump. Thanks everyone!

Well my order already shipped so I guess I'll just test it out and see what happens. How many jumps did you do on the Viplo, and was it just that one time that it messed up? @ Kalrigan, there is no option like that you pay for each jump that you use the gear, it might be best just to bring all your gear in a duffel bag or something.

Right now is the best time of the year in Dubai, weather is perfect. Towards late April the weather starts to really heat up. Its all on a per jump basis Suit: 20 AED ($5) Altimeter: 40 AED ($10) Helmet:40 AED ($10) Rig: 75 AED ($20) Take note that there are two dropzones in Dubai, the palm dropzone requires jumpers to have a D license as a minimum to jump there. The second dropzone is in the desert 30 minutes out of from downtown; view isn't as awesome but its still pretty cool.

I can still change my order I guess, I just liked the face on the FT50/60 more. Is there a malfunction history with the Viplo? If the brand isn't reliable then I'll definitely change. The original Benny's liner looks like it will wear and tear much faster with use. So I figured I might as well go the extra mile and get proper padding. These are the goggles I got if anyone is interested: http://www.chutingstar.com/skydive/vented-arch-goggle Thanks again

Haha its all good, renting at my DZ is fucking expensive and now that I finished AFF the equipment isn't inclusive. So I figured I might as well get the bare-bones to mitigate the cost of the jump Placed my order on the Advanced Benny, Superlight Alti, & some decent looking goggles. That should be enough for awhile! Thanks for the help

I'm only at the drop zone once a week, and I wanna get my gear shipped before I go to the dropzone this week so I don't have to rent. The dropzone provides plenty of support and for the amount I'm paying there I'm most definitely utilizing it. However, this doesn't mean I can't also look elsewhere for some answers.

I thought the one I picked is also glow in the dark but the difference only being that the background is white instead of black. I'm not a fan of the black background xD

Here are the items I had in mind to order, if anything seems too cheap or expensive I'd appreciate a heads up as I'm not really familiar with the norm/quality. Altimeter: http://www.chutingstar.com/skydive/ft50-ft60-superlight-altimeter Helmet: http://www.chutingstar.com/skydive/advanced-benny Suit: I heard its best to custom order this from the DZ?

Just finished my Cat B jump today and the opening was way smoother this time. Definitely had a rough opening on the first jump.

How common is this?

What do you mean? I'm not sure I understand.

Whoooooosshhh

I'm not writing off style as unimportant, I'm writing off the ridiculous notion of emasculating someone based of their choice of socks. Maybe its time I welcomed you both to 2013 where ankle socks & low-cuts are common footwear amongst men who play sports, especially amongst runners and bicyclists. Next thing I know you'll call Usian Bolt a pussy because he didn't have socks up to his knees, get a grip.

Well I'm doing my Cat B on Friday I guess I'll post back then and see if its the same or any different. I can tell there are somethings I'm gonna have to get use to, I don't mind things being a bit rough in the start though. Thanks for the encouraging advice. PS: I'm not really interested in adopting a middle school mentality on foot wear, ankle socks are unisex and there's no problem with men wearing them, if you feel uncomfortable in them that's fine but don't project that insecurity on others

@dthames, the pain was immediate, my neck was whipped down and I couldn't bring it up... you can sort of see it in the last photo @nadominhoca, This is the Dubai Desert DZ! good eye! its a great DZ but its very busy! @pchapman, Its comforting to know I didn't cause it, and I'm not really looking to point fingers at anyone I just wanted to see if I did anything wrong, at least I can correct that. I can handle a few bruises and sores, it will be worth it in the end :) Everyone's been really helpful, I'm learning a lot from your responses, thanks!

No my instructor said I should just see if I experience the same thing on my next jump before we should be to concerned about it. The only reason I thought it was a hard opening is because none of the other first time jumpers experienced what I did that day. Who knows what it really was, all I know is it sucked. For the record ankle socks don't pull the hair on my legs down when I feel like going for a run, much more comfortable than those pesky long socks

I told my instructor what happened and he said it might of been a hard opening. He just told me to see if it happens again on the next jump before we should worry about it. I agree with him, but I was just looking for something a bit more conclusive. I will add the pain from the opening was intense, it wasn't something mild I could shake off after a few minutes. I was pretty dazed even after the parachute settled. My point of reference was other people doing their first jump that same day who said they did not have the same experience.

I'm about 5'11" so my legs can't be that short? What do you mean by body tension exactly? I should tense up while opening or remain relaxed? My head felt kind of forced down during the opening, kind of like how a fast looping roller coaster tries to push your head down. Yeah I'm gonna wait a week before I go for my second AFF, gives me time to reflect and research what I can do better as well. The horizontal trainer is the flat rotating board they make us arch on right? Yeah I definitely felt something while we reviewed the jump plan on that thing, it was very tiring to stay arched on it.

Yeah the angle my legs were at was probably my instructors main criticism when we did the debrief. I I'll definitely put more focus on them in the next jump. If it helps I was using a 260 sqft canopy and I weigh 160lbs I did no stretching at all, other then the hard opening and strong wind resistance on my legs I didn't feel it was very physical. Maybe because my balance was mainly coming from my instructors holding on to me? When would I notice the physical aspect of the sport.

Had a pretty hard opening on my first jump, my back and inner thighs are still really sore, definitely strained a few muscles. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the cause for this, I attached a few pictures around the time I'm pulling my chute for you guys to check out. As its my first jump I'm sure I made plenty of mistakes, if one of these caused the hard opening let me know as I never want to experience that again.

Its my wallet that will be in despair, those repeat courses are not cheap at all :( any repeats will cut into the budget I allocated for gear purchases later on. So I did my ground school and unfortunately there was too much turbulence to allow me to jump in the afternoon. I guess I will have to wait till next week before I get to do the first jump! Thanks for all the reply's from everyone, very encouraging.

Hey whats up, I took a keen interest in skydiving and finally mustered up the courage and cash to begin my AFF courses. I do my ground school tomorrow which will hopefully be followed by a AFF level 1 jump. If you guys have any tips to avoid failing any of the AFF levels I would greatly appreciate it.