tred

why cant you practice with a good canopy?

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4723746;search_string=home%20rig%20rack;#4723746

are you sure it is 5 years in US? I always heard 3 but I have never looked it up

your throwing away money renting gear, I stopped for 3 months when I had 15 jumps to save for a rig, it sucks but it will pay off later.

my advice, stop jumping and save every dollar you have until you have your own rig. then you can jump for 25$. eat noodles and pb&j, don't buy new clothes, don't go out, save every dollar you have, get another job, sell stuff you don't use any more. become a PACKER. all of these things work and its how I afford it. these posts kinda annoy me.

so how much does a coach jump cost?

how?

there is a way to do it in the manual, also if you can put it on and clip it, it will loosen up over time. wear it around the house clipping it on and off and you should be fine

at some DZ's as long as your gear meets "student gear requirements"

landgren said the same thing on the recent skydive radio episode

I saw someone return after 6 years off with 150 jumps, re did the FJC and then did a single AFFI jump, then he asked for the AFFI for two more jumps before joining the fun jumpers

packing helps

seems like a reasonable deal to me, everything is from early nineties including the cypress ( so it would be expired)

I think most do more than 20 jumps a year. my rig cost 1800 (+300$ for new lines= 2100), I have put 140 jumps on it. 140x25rental fee= 3500 I have saved I could probably sell my rig for between 1500-2000$

credit card

because the best place to learn to skydive is at one of those skydiving places

power, rent, facility up keep, employees, and still manage to make profit? same as every business?

IMO if you can do 2-3 jumps a day for a couple days to finish your aff it would be very beneficial. you will progress faster doing as many jumps as can. as your progress you can do more jumps in day before your daily 'burnout'

all roads lead to an a license. pick a dropzone and start jumping. judging by the difficulty you are having getting started, you probably will never finish any student program. hopefully you will prove me wrong.

one hour is overkill for aff but... it will pay off when you get to your coach jumps and newly licensed jumps. especially with the way newer jumpers have trouble getting on jumps, having some ok belly skills will help you get on some small ways. and it is much more cost effective to learn your freefall skills in the tunnel. I say if you can afford it got for it

you can jump solo after AFF but will not get your A license only jumping solo

if you really want to get involved in the sport your first goal should be an A license, my advice would be too pick what will most likely be your 'home' DZ go there speak with them get your a license and ask questions along the way. its hard to understand everything In the beginning so you just gotta do it but as mentioned earlier trying to save 100$ here or there just isn't worth it, you will look back later and laugh at that. if you don't have the money yet wait, save every dollar you have by eating pb&j's and come back when you have some money to blow. it sucks to run out of money after 10 jumps and then decide to save money for 5 months, that's what I did. my recommendation would be 10grand but it can be done for less. that would get you through your a license, get you a used rig, jumpsuit, helmet, alti, and have some left over to blow on fun jumps but that is just my opinion and others have done it different ways.

I am a south florida native and would recommend a fishing charter. it won't be cheap but don't try to bargain shop the good ones are costly for a reason, they WILL get you fish if you can afford it. the keys are the fishing capital of the world with a very diverse and delicious selection of fish and some charters will prepare the fish for you or you can take it to a restaurant and for a fee they will prepare it. of course if you don't like seafood and fishing then disregard this , but in my experience kids find it pretty cool when they reel in their own mahi mahi or grouper and get to eat it that night for dinner

after AFF you can jump with: AFF instructor, a coach, or D licensed skydiver with S&TA approval?. at most DZ's that will mean you will pay at least that persons slot. I finished my a license at a 182 dz so sometimes you get on a four way with your aff instructors and they will sign you off if you "happen" to demonstrate the appropriate skills but this is not the norm at most turbine DZ's

technically you cant finish your a license just jumping solo, you would have to pay for coach jumps to get signed off on your progression card, usually DZ's will discount the price for the whole 'A' package because it keeps you coming