somethinelse

Ya, I agree, don't worry about having all the cash start to finish to get ya going. As ya have the cash to jump, make the jumps that ya have the cash for. I don't earn much money, but I do jump when I have money to jump, even if it was only a few on each pay check... That was even with renting gear. Now that I have my own gear, I anticipate more jumps per dz visit...

I think you're on to something about the instructors possibly not helping this dude to just ENJOYand RELAX. The feeling of flight in freefall is so totally amazing! Yet... When I was struggling with AFP (using ONE Instructors rather than the two used in AFF) it was BECAUSE of the feeling of PRESSURE TO SUCCEED fairly quickly on each of the tasks- and sometimes MULTIPLE TASKS in EACH SKYDIVE- that caused me to stress about it, and not to just SIMPLY ENJOY. Remember instructors, THIS IS ALL NEW to students, and pressure to succeed takes away from the pleasure of the jump- and isn't that why we keep on doing this? Maybe if more instrucotrs REALIZED THIS, more students would more quickly pick up on JOY OF FREEFALL sooner and stick with this sport after they've worked and toiled to get their "A". Skydiving should feel like NOT WORK BUT PLAY.

This northern girl called quite a few friends while I was stationed in Missouri and then Virginia. Ya all seem so much more easier going and less complicated than so many of the Northern guys I've gotten to know lately! So where ya'all jumping at?! Just venting. Nothing serious, really just looking for some new fun-loving friends I guess. Blues - LiLa.

Have you or someone you know either "cut away" from their 'settled', planned out usual life, or make drastic/radical changes fairly suddenly for no apparant reason?? & how did it turn out or how is it turning out?

Ya, it ISN'T "lucky" per say at all. Ya still gotta be SMART consider altitude, speed, winds, that you may or may not be able to see wind indicators for, and NO, sometimes you cannot do a typical block like approach to land either. In my case, initially I was heading with the winds towards the dz but still looking towards it ahead of me and to the right... but THOUGHT I was gonna OVER SHOOT the DZ, so spiralled a couple of times, and beginning to PLAN to turn to the right but then I was at 1.5k flattening out but now the winds seemed to have picked up, and I knew I was coming down right where pretty quickly... So! Sometimes ya gotta think fast on yer feet and do the safest thing even tho its a deviation from the training you got as a student. And when in doubt PLF... RIGHT?

That is SO FUNNY! Almost EXACTLY like what happened with me, since two groups went out before me, and the coach with me just stepped out for a posed exit with me, and with everybody only taking enough time for seperation, I thought everything must be a ok, and didn't even check for a spot, but at that point... timing seemed to be- hurry up and get out alread, since it was the last bit of the jump run... But from freefall, I couldn't make out anything familiar, so looked all around for something... ?! Wow. I learned something big time. But even on the ride up- faster in a caravan big time than from cessna- ya know? It was hard to make out landmarks from the windows on the ride up- and really, I was trying, too!

Last year my home dz prices (really cheap prices actually!) were daily rental was $35 PLUS JUMP TICKETS... add on the cost of any pack fees if you're not packing it for yer jumps yer self.

Ya at the typical palces when ya gotta go ya gotta go... Plus these ones that nobody's admitted to yet: ... At a Red Sox game, after standing in line forever,, I ran into the EMPTY MENS RESTROOM...aah sweet relief. I even stood guard over the door for other women in similar situations... Also after a Red Sox game, too many beers, and walking for many blocks to find the car... follwoed my boyfriend BEHIND A DUMPSTER IN A DARK ALLEY, no one else around anyways. - LuLu.

I hear where yer coming from! I had problems with sensory overload in freefall when I first started out. I asked a million and one questions about wind directions/freefall speeds and angles of descent, etc. etc. all so I could plan and think thru all that I would experience... ...The staff at that first DZ didn't quite know what to think of me... And I gave it all up for about a year and a half until I found another dz where I planned out my training with the instructors, and discussed "issues" with my training before. I don't know what would be best for YOU, but I did another tandem just to refamiliarize myself with freefall sensations and to see where my 'head was at' with skydiving/freefall etc... Ya know? ...and I loved it! BUT RATHER THAN GO WITH TRAINING WITH INSTRUCTORS IN FREEFALL, I DID A STATIC COURSE, and THEN COACH JUMPS TO GET MY "A". and that proved to best boost my confidence, and to know that I CAN NOT ONLY DEAL WITH IT, BUT REALLY LOVE IT NOW. Hope that helps...

The corn was surprisingly high, but I looked at the ground between, and aimed to flare and come in between rows... almost stood anyhow, but I got a bit tangled up... Having grown up in the country, I did wince a bit as I broke a stalk on landing... but only one! Thats good advice about knowing the current crops, too, will prove valuable info down the road...

Hey thanx! Yeah, I couldn't see the wind indicators from where I was, but I sure wasn't seeming to be making any forward motion at all... but kinda thought that that might've been because of my f111 chute... But thanx... I almost made it, but knew better than to try to turn over the trees at that altitude with so many unknown factors...

Thanx. I was lucky the corn stalks didn't having any ears of corn on them yet! That'd hurt- altho probably could hurt a guy worse...! Actually I was told in advance about outs and safe areas, and how to land best in the corn rows if I found that was were I was landing in at... I talked about ift with others later, and they were good about talking about the landmarks around the greater area.

Does anybody know what the news is about the Napolean DZ in Michigan? Last I knew they were operating out of Franenmuth, but the word on that seems to be that there's been some static about the airport wanting to allow that to continue or not... I would like to have an update from somebody who really would know what's really going on. Blues!

Went to and jumped at a new DZ last Saturday... Although they did have an aerial photo posted, I didn't study it as well as I should have, and ended up landing off the dz in a farmers corn field! Very wild experience.... Thought I MIGHT be able to make it, but with only two jumps on this my first rig, a new DZ, and being the last to exit, and maybe even drifting a bit while in freefall, considering everything, Its really not surprising that I landed off. Please can you all give me tips for how to better gauge while in freefall where you're at, and how to make necessary adjustment to better direct landings, especailly at unfamiliar DZs would be great! Thanx everybody in advance... -LuLu.

Couldn't jump at my ususal DZ last saturday, so I drove across the state by myself, and ended up jumping at Tecumseh, hoping to see somebody I already knew to jump with. Everybody was really Terrific, from Mark giving my rig a thorough inspection, and Cindy helping me to find somebody to jump with & coach me... A great experience... And ya'all made me feel right at home... Thanx too to Sporto and all the others who made me feel welcome and at ease afterwards around the fire. Tecumseh ya all ROCK! -"LuLu" ps edited as usual for spelling/typing too fast

I dont know about YOU but I am far from perfect, and dont expect nor assume perfection from anyone regarding anything whether it be from there beli8ef system or their life style. People are not robots, and frankly most of us who frequent this website tend to be in some ways rebels. No one force-feeds me to be or act any certain way, and that comes out in choices, good bad or indifferent. jSometimes I'm a fool, some times Im cool. But YES, I am a Christian- in that I believe that Jesus was and is Gods son, all that He taught and TRY to live my life right and keep my heart open to what God wants me to do/be... But hey, I'm human, and dont ever expect anybody to say- hey look at that Chick, she's NOT perfect. Wow. Christainity- or becoming Born Again is a belief, acceptance, And God really does free your heart mind and the soul. We all got to come to grips with God, and He will try to reach you if you quiet your mind and heart. Whether we're talking about God or even other people, Ya know, its really up to you whether you accept or reject.

Wow. I can relate to both sides of the issue... I too am a Beleiver in Jesus Christ as God's son and Savior, yet, I struggle with the "grey areas" and the hardships in this life. I try to live a good and up-right kind of life, BUT I am not a religious "martyr" tho, and have fluxuated back and forth over the years towards seeking comfort and relief from the darker sides of life in ways that the "church" would frown apon and possible reject me. But ya know, Jesus was all about forgiveness. And when I get my priorities right, and/or my head screwed on straight again from whatever road block detoured me or tossed me into the ditch, I can get right with my Lord and God, go on and know that everythings gonna be alright with me and my God.

thanx all. Thanx everybody...VERY interesting! Boy do I have a lot to learn. ANd No, I'm NOT in marketing, I'm just doing my own research, I guess. Expereincing a lot of other peoples packing too when I've rented rigs, YA know??? I can see that it would probably would be a really good idea to repack anything that I rent, until I got my own rig, especially so as to know what it is I'll be dealing with. B Safe, Have Fun... Blues, LiLa.

It's good to know there's different factors that come into play in how a canopy will open: packing carefully, canopy used and good body positioning... Thanks so much to both of you for enlightening me. I really appreciate it!

I've seen posts about canopies that'll open softly- and that they tend to be snivelly- opening slowly. Also read up about fast openings that open hard, possibly hurting you sometimes. So far I actually have experienced both types. But is it possible to have a fairly fast opening canopy that opens relatively softly?? And are there certain canopies that tend to be more gentle in their openings even tho they're fast? -LiLa.

Hey,

So just out of curiousity , can you throw out a few examples of freefly friendly/safe rigs that noobs like me could consider??? & how about something BUDGET FRIENDLY, too... -LiLa.

Just trying to cover all the bases when it comes to trying to get what's versatile. Yeah, I'll mostly belly-fly, but even so, I attempted a 2-way with a more experienced free flyer friend that was SUPPOSED TO BE fairly conservative, but ended up in a spectacular tumbling funnel! So just for my own peace of mind as well as being free to do whatever, I want it to be free fly friendly.

Went to a different DZ than my usual home Dz for Safety Day this past Saturday... And at one point, it was said that modifications can be done on Vector 2's to make them freefly friendly. What exactly is done to do this anyways? I've been looking to buy used gear, and thot that you should buy gear that already was freefly friendly if you thot that that was a way you wanted to go. Well, if modifications CAN be done on rigs to make them freefly friendly, I should be able to consider a wider variety of used rigs to buy, right...? So with this in mind, are some rigs easier for a Master Rigger to modify to be freefly friendly? And if so, which rigs should newbies like me consider? Thanx again! -Blues, LiLa.

Regarding flying a 175: I've gotten advice from ST&A and he advised me on that only after I get current and comfortable flying the rental rigs they got at the DZ first, then under his oversight to move to that then. I love canopy piloting the most so far, and everything I've rented is sluggish and heavy, slow, But I am conservative and methodical about learning, I've just been slowed down in my jumped numbers due to needing to rent and the costs involved with that. My DZ is small & really on top of things safety wise, and I trust them & look strongly to the instructor and coaches as I've been learning. ...SO everythings cool.