leafyanna

Thanks, have tried watch thread function and happy with that now.

The shortcut thing doesn't seem to get me anywhere though...

Would definitely love to have a bookmark function for the articles in the future.

Sorry for the dumb question but I've failed to find an answer so far and the FAQ link doesn't seem to work?

Is there a way to bookmark an article or a post on this forum? So that I can find them easily later whenever I want to...

Passed Stage 1 today!! Very happy and utterly exhausted.

Probably asked way too many silly questions like my first post above, apparently the CI and all the JMs agree that I think too much. It did turn out that I over-imagined the difficulty and complexity of everything. Had 12 hours of training yesterday and this morning in the drill I kept forgetting one or two things over and over again, so I completely freaked out. I had no idea what it was that made me still proceed with the jump but it all turned out fine. My landing wasn't ideal, TA told me I flared a bit late. I glided into the grass and ended up in a roll. But didn't get a scratch anywhere so that was lucky. Also received some valuable feedback from my JMs so a few things to work on on my next jump. Overall my JMs have given me a better evaluation than what I'd give myself. Can't say how grateful I am for everyone there who looked out for me this weekend: CI, JMs, my TA, and all the friendly strangers at the DZ who made it so easy to fit in.

Now that I've done it I finally know what confidence is. Was a pity I couldn't do Stage 2 today because I signed in a bit late and they've run out of loads. But will definitely return for the rest of my AFF.

peter.xu

The all run way was huge but , The DZ are build in the mid of city... and around some military area, on the most runway theres helicoptor fly arounds...

Which city is that?

I had thought skydiving in China is strictly military and not open to civilians. Looks like I'm way behind on what's happening now... Although, I'd still prefer to have a license already before buying a track suit

What are the conditions of jumping there? Is there a grading system or some sort of licensing? Are there any drop zones in other cities?

Thanks for sharing; those are some really nice photos.

RA0

Like most people have mentioned, and like most will in future, you will be fine! Speaking from personal experience, canopy control was the easy part. You will have a two way radio attached to your helmet and will receive directions. Just stick to the directions and what you were taught during your theory course, and you will be fine. Also speaking from personal experience, DON'T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE TARGET ASSISTANT/LANDING ASSISTANT as you approach landing. I learnt that lesson the hard way.

Which dropzone in Victoria will you be doing your AFF in?

Which one is the best?

I booked Nagambie. For me it'd be either them, or Barwon Heads. I did three tandems with STBB and I really like them, but I need to get my driver's license first before I can go down to Barwon Heads, I am still learning driving at the moment - not sure which one's more dangerous, the plane or the car?

Thanks for all the sharing and advice. I got told a lot by my friends that I overcook everything, sounds like that's the final diagnosis of me. Hopefully I won't be thinking too much in the air...

Hello everyone, I should have introduced myself earlier. Have been lurking around here for a couple of months. I just did my 4th tandem yesterday, and I'm going to take my AFF 1st jump course in three weeks time.

I'm a very slow student. I didn't get the arch right until my 2nd tandem. And my 3rd tandem was the first time I managed to keep my eyes open at exit. It seems like I just can't get over the fear before the jump; but what I get from the moment of exit until hours after landing always keep me coming back for more. Just one jump on the weekend is enough to keep my spirit high for a whole week. I don't know if that fear is ever supposed to be gone, but I'd like to see myself getting better at controlling it, and one day be able to jump all on my own.

I've started to do some reading on skydiving (mainly Wikipedia, forum and the Skydiver's Handbook by Dan Poynter) since I booked in my 1st jump course two months ago. Then I realized that the more technical stuff I read the less confident I get; I assume it's not helpful doing it all in my head rather than actually getting any physical idea. So I took my 4th tandem, and my nice awesome TI took the pain to show me his altimeter all the way up and down, and also showed me a bit about canopy control; I ended up not looking at the camera much at all, but I've learnt a lot. Some of the concepts I've only read about now finally become tangible and sensible to me. I'm feeling better about myself, and more looking forward to my course.

I imagine the canopy control part would be much harder than freefall for my first jump, because no one will be there to help me out if I get myself into trouble. And I've no idea how or how much I can learn from one day worth of ground training. Everyone has to have a first solo landing before they become a solo jumper. Would really appreciate it if anyone could give some advice/share some experience on how to approach my learning and apply it safe and right in the air on my first jump?

It's nice to be here; I've found a new world I like, and I need to work hard to stay around.

ouch

Not sure you want that free ride?
If the tandem master decides he wants it, you would actually want it!

Just out of curiosity, if you're coming to forums to chat about this, perhaps you might be interested in learning to skydive without the TM having to make the judgment calls?

Contact a DZ that does full student training and investigate further.

I am in the process of doing that. But I'm a very slow student that easily gets nervous, it took me 3 tandem jumps to finally open my eyes at exit... I'm going to do my first jump course in September

I'm not sure I want to read this when I'm looking around for encouragement to start my AFF...

On the other hand, you are pretty lucky in a way... that's more experience than someone can get in two years. Well done mate, I wish I can do as well as you have in that situation.

vision

They have a waiver, will be interesting to see if it stands up... they have to sign and become a member of the APF...

I agree that this guy is an ass for suing...

we all take our chances..

Have to sign a APF standard waiver and apply for the student membership with them before every jump. It specifically says you are at your own risk and no one else is liable regardless of what happens, and you have the option to buy a PA insurance (not much though). DZ has APF backing on this case, I hope it works out fine in the end... If they rule out that waiver the future will be nasty...

steveorino

I have 2000 tandems and 10 reserve rides. On most I had to respond w/o conversing with student. On a couple it was line twist that wouldn't untwist before my hard deck and I asked the student to look up and arch. Whoops! Second free fall ... No extra charge.

Not sure I want that free ride? I'll keep my mouth shut and avoid asking questions like "Are we going to die".

Not sure if this topic belongs to this forum; please feel free to move it if necessary.

Read this in the news today:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/the-amazing-survival-tale-of-thrillseeking-melbourne-man-brad-guy-who-leapt-from-14000-feet-and-had-his-parachute-and-reserve-both-fail/story-fni0fiyv-1226954611778

The incident happened last year, back then I didn't know I'd try skydiving a few months later and got addicted, so I didn't even notice it in the paper. This was the same drop zone I did my 2nd tandem at (and same operator I did both my 1st and 2nd tandem with), so kinda make me feel more related in a strange way. I totally love that drop zone. I actually got to watch their packer do the packing on my jump day and really enjoyed what I saw. Things happen and it's always good to learn from them, especially for newbies like me. I just spent two hours trying to dig up more detailed information on the forum about this incident but failed. I'm quite new here so not sure if there's been a discussion somewhere? I want to find out what exactly happened with the main canopy and why it didn't cutaway when the reserve deployed (sounds like that's what happened in the news), what went wrong to cause the main malfunction in the first place (news says it's packer's fault), what should be done to prevent/correctly rectify it.

Also, reading this brings up a question I've had for a while. What is the student expected to do - or not to do - in the event of a tandem malfunction? I've done 3 tandems so far and all that's been required of me is to keep my body position right and lift up my legs on landing. If a malfunction happens, I believe how the student reacts to it would make the situation better or worse for the instructor. Would be really helpful if the tandem instructors here want to share their thoughts on this.

Thanks.

JeffCa

Don't reduce the number just because some deadweight is strapped to your back, along for the ride. And the tandem can count towards the number required for licence purposes.

Ha, I'm concerned because I actually didn't do anything throughout the ride. If not for the "deadweight" strapped to my back I'd sure be dead! But that's good news for me if I can count my tandems in to get my license. Thanks!

Just out of ignorance here...when people do their jump stat does tandem jumps really count? I had thought your first jump means when you first jump out of a plane solo... question from another newbie