GAjumper84

Hey everyone! I've gotten some great advice on here so far, so I figured I would try to pick your brains again Got my first real freefall coming up in the morning, wanted to see if anyone had any advice on it. So far I did my first clear and pull, but I did it so fast that I wasn't completely off "the hill". When freefalling starts to flatten out belly to earth, is there any concern I should have about being stable other than just hold the arch? As in if I start to feel unstable is there any quick trick to regain stability? Any tips on methods to help ensure a steady 5 second count? I am probably just being overly cautious, as my instuctors have told me I have a great arch right off the strut, but if I didn't attempt to harness any knowledge I could to get this right I would be kicking myself if I didn't get it right. Thanks for any advice!

Not sure about everywhere else, but at my DZ AFF and IAD cost the same amount. Only difference is you get way more jumps logged in IAD. So anyone wanting to get licensed I suggest IAD. I also personally like to learn in a thorough manner, so IAD was my method of choice. Although from a financial standpoint it is better off as well. Especially if you have to redo a level. Does anyone know any reason other than getting straight to top altitude on the first jump for going the AFF route?

Not much experience here, but the best advice I could give is just relax. The opposing wind will almost push you in the correct position if you just put your arms and legs in the correct place. If you try to fight it or become stiff it makes it a lot harder than it needs to be. I found that out the hard way. Anyway, from one newbie to another good luck on the next jump!

My first jump I opened into line twists (my fault, IAD opening on my back), I pulled apart and kicked. Worked well on 3 1/2 rounds of twists.

That makes me feel a lot better about the tunnel not that far from me... They do a package deal five 3 minute sessions for $110.

I'm not very experienced in this industry, so no expert opinion here, but what I would try to do is work it out in advance. Call different DZs and find a DZO who will commit to let you pack for them. Let that dictate where exactly you go.

To stop trying to convince my friends and family to go with me. I have not found one person who would go. Then I realized I was getting on people's nerves trying to convince them. Now I am just building relationships at the DZ so I can talk skydiving with people who enjoy it as much as I do! No convincing required.

Those are perfect! I'll go with those for now. They look much more comfortable, and best of all I will know who has been wearing them!

I'm sorry for not being more specific. When I was saying sunglasses, I was talking about the style of eyewear. Either way I would be getting clear lenses.

I am a student and the first thing I am looking to buy is a pair of goggles or sunglasses. I have been using the student goggles at my home DZ, but they are very uncomfortable and fog up like 3 times on the way up. I have seen a great deal of both sunglasses and goggles online for around $20-$30, but have no idea what the pros and cons to both are. I was leaning towards a pair of curve-z sunglasses, but wanted to see what some experienced people thought before I went that route.

It does get humid and hot in Georgia! I won't know what its like till next summer though. First jump was only in September, so it has been perfect temperature on the ground and at altitude. As for military jumps, my brother was an airborne Ranger, so he has told me all about it. No fun at all, and anyone I know with a decent amount of jumps under their belt has bad knees or ankles. Ouch!! From what I understand, weather is a huge setback for a lot of people who live in colder/wetter areas, sorry to hear you are in an area that shuts down for the winter

Hey are the boogies fun to just go watch? Like would other people be just watching? I ask because as a student I wouldn't be jumping, but figured it would be fun to go .

Lol, thanks for the summary of south Georgia! I avoid it, think I've been down there twice in my life, and Ive lived in GA my whole life. You forgot to mention the sand nats. North Georgia is completely different. As for jumping year round, yeah I definately can here. Don't know how much I will enjoy 10 degree (F) wind hitting my face at 120mph though! I will find out soon enough though I'm sure. Glad to meet you and good luck getting all that wood chopped!

Thanks for all the help. Redid the dummy pull today and nailed it! Did my first real clear and pull afterwords, and it went perfect! Also got put on standby on the radio, so I did a jump from beginning to end by myself. What a rush! The more I do this, the more I love it. Thanks again everyone!

Yeah, I was talking about the same day. Thanks for the response!

I will definately try that out. Makes much more sense than what I currently am trying. Wish I had a rig to try it out on at home. Fortunately I usually have to wait a while to jump, so I should have plenty of time to practice on the ground.

#1 No bones sticking out and no I am not a ghost typing these forum posts, so yes I am ok And I have no issue with repeating a level other than the cost involved! Other than that I am having a blast, so it doesn't really matter to me if it takes me 14 or 25 jumps to get cleared for solo jumps. I just want to learn safely and very thoroughly. That's why I went IAD as opposed to AFF in the first place. #2 On my first attempt they said I looked down and slightly dearched. On jump 5 though I held the arch the whole time, just didn't get it quick enough. It actually ended up being kind of borderline. In my logbook, I am cleared for level 6 by my instructor. Then I talked to the owner and told him the instructor told me to see him about what the plan was for the next jump. What I was talking about was the plan to get me up in the air again, as they were very busy running normal 14k jumps. He misunderstood me and thought the instructor was talking about what we would be doing on the next jump. He said he wanted me to do the dummy one more time just for him to feel comfortable. I would have argued that the instructor cleared me had it not been the owner! #3 Yes I will definitely have to work on not looking down. It doesn't really make sense to do it as you can't see the handle, but that didn't stop me from doing it! #4 Since jumping I have realized by the fact that no one that I know will go with me that it takes guts that most people don't have to jump out of a plane. To me it wasn't any huge deal, never knew people were so scared of it. All I keep hearing is, "You're crazy!" Or, "You have a wife and kids to think about!"

Thanks for the tips. I will definately try it!

Lol, great idea! Doubt I would get away with it though. Also if I can't pull a dummy, I don't want to move on. Would hate to have to pull the reserve just because I couldn't find the handle on the rig! Doubt it would happen, but who knows. Going this weekend to get back up on that horse!

Wow! Makes me feel better about missing it once. I am going to keep it up until I get it for sure. I will have to remember to throw it and not just hang on. On jump 4 I was supposed to pull a dummy, reached and found nothing. All the way to the ground I was really upset with myself, since I had tried even under canopy with no luck. Got on the ground and looked, no handle. Asked my instructor and he said he saw it fly out as I was reaching for it. Thanks for advice on practicing it on the ground. Definately going to do that, and the owner said we will go through it together. Any advice on technique reaching around for the handle?

I just completed and failed lvl 5 of IAD last weekend. In that jump you have to jump from the plane, arch, and pull a dummy pilot chute handle all before your canopy deploys fully. My issue was that when I reached, the container flap for the main was flapping in the way, so I missed it. I did get it after the main opened, but the instructor wants me to redo it. Anyone been through this before and have any tips for easily accessing the handle that is fairly bulletproof? I just don't want to mess up again and have to repeat for a third time. I want to get this right, so I can pull my own chute and increase altitude for some freefall! I never did a tandem, so all I've gotten so far is about 4 seconds at a time. Just

Hey everyone! I just started skydiving out of DZ Skydive Monroe in GA a month ago in the IAD program. Got 5 jumps in so far and I love it! Through hanging out at the DZ, as well as checking out this forum I now realize I have become a part of a community. Skydiving is great, but so is just getting to meet new people! If anyone else skydives out of this dropzone, hit me up as I will probably graduate in the next couple of months and would love to get with someone who wants to have fun, but doesn't mind me asking my newbie questions. Other than that if anyone has any advise for a new guy I will definately appreciate it.