eyeinthesky

whats the geography like when you exit the plane at Perris? is it beaches or land? doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

nope, not AFF, i went static line training course. im a real do-it-yourselfer, so thats the way i wnated to go, and the incrememental phases of it are nice doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

because you can! you live in a free country, you can do anything you want, and you choose not to live the boring, monotonous, "normal" life that doesnt let most people really know what living is.... doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

he told me i'd have to repeat it because he wanted to see a series of successful backflips and recovery before we move on to other things. i'm not upset by it or anything; i'm pretty lucky i made it all the way to 45 sec delays without ever having to repeat anything. i think i now know what i did wrong, so next time i'll get it. i'm pretty calm about the whole jump, so as long as i know what to do, i usually do it perfectly, except for that hilarious first freefall when it freaked me out! hilarious for the instructor, trauma for me, then hilarity when i landed. anyway, thanks guys! doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

hell yeah! talk about a vacation! doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

instructor watching from the door of the plane as i do my first hop-n-pop. i let go, wait a few seconds, reach for the ripcord and pull and relax. i dont feel the snap of the chute open, so i look at my right hand and its empty. with the deer in the headlights look on my face and a homer simpson scream, i frantically pull the ripcord again, making sure i have a deathgrip on it this time. he was still in tears, literally, when he landed after me. that was a good 6 months ago and we still laughed about it yesterday. doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

jump number 13, of all the numbers, and i finally have to repeat the jump. this jump was my first 45 second freefall with nothing to accomplish but backflips. it had been over 2 months since i was last able to jump, and i was surprised that i remembered everything so well....getting stable and everything came naturally, i expected to have to fight it with it haveing been so long. anyway, ,im hoping you guys can give me some advice. i did two flips, or at least tried twice. on viewing video, i started the first flip pretty well, but halfway through, i stopped the flip and ended up on my back. it felt successful to me though, so i think thats why i stopped the flip midway. but the second attempt, i ended up on my back, then in a corkscrew feeling flip, then on my back again when trying to get stable again. stuck my arm out and flipped back and got stable again. how is the best way to try backflips. the way they told me was to get stable in the boxman position, thenn quickly pull my knees to my chest and pull my head back. i am not sure what to do with my arms, ,if anything. several people told me different ways, most seemed conflicting. i dont want to repeat jumps at $45 each, so hlep me please. thanks! doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

i am in KY and a group of us are heading out to california in july to see the kickoff of the Steely Dan tour. its just south of LA. a guy we are meeting up with wants to skydive for the first time, so i plan on me and him going while we're out there. can you tell me a couple of dropzones within 2 hours of LA? beach and/or mountain diving would be cool! thanks! doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

do DZ's ever get in the practice of selling off student rigs from time to time? i kinda like the ones we use and wouldnt mind buying one of them. any of you all have any idea what a fair price would be. we use 288 mantas, FXC's, large containers, RSL's, ripcords. theyre obviously well used. thanks! doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

'nuff said. thanks hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

theres an auctionon ebay for a rig, going pretty cheap. nothing fancy. i was wondering if anyones jumping a rascal here, ,and what they think of it. not that ive had anything to compare on canopy jumping, im at the end of static training and looking to buy a cheap beginners rig. its a 247 rascal main, BOC, sentinel AAD and a reserve. if i like the manta 288 im jumping, how will i like this. i really dont want to go down in size much from the 288. i dont really want to get into fancy canopy flight. i enjoy the slow ride down, taking in the sights and enjoyiing it all. thanks guys! doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

everything AFTER the point when i let go of the strut. once i realize "phuk, i cant stop it now". the freefall, still a student in 45 sec delays, is fun, but the relief as i reach for the cord, pull, and feel the snap of the 288 opening....aahhhhhhhh. then the challenge of trying to get at least 75 feet closer to the target than last time..... doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

open the door and tell me to get out and im fine with it. open the door at 7000 with my seatbelt off and have the instructor and me leaning almost half our bodies out the door teaching me to spot even with my rig on and......seems contrasting dont it?! i am fine with jumping or climbing out, but i dont want to FALL out, hahaha! the weather is getting better, hopefully #13 will go okay. talk about jinxing oneself! doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

seems its more common than not here to be quesy about roofs than open plane doors. thing was, i didnt know that heights bothered me. thanks guys doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

tell me if this is typical or rare....i took up skydiving last fall, and am still a student. i go up to 8500 feet, they open the door, and although a bit nervous, i go ahead and make my jump and dont think anything of it or feel quesy about the heights....i just bought my house and was on the roof the other day clearing some limbs away. i go up the ladder, bet on the roof ( a two story ), and notice i have an uneasiness about heights that i didnt know i had before. i thought it was kinda funny that 8000 doesnt bother me but 25 or 30 did. i've heard about the army research and the 34 foot rule, but still.....is this totally typical among jumpers, or is it something odd? thanks! doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

check out this everyone..... http://www.carsearch.com/mb/read.php?6,955 seems this is going on several places, especially in nigeria. they dont even really want the item theyre buying, just the returned money from the stolen check. even cashier's checks are bad. geeez doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

fishy, big time. if you gotta question if someone's up to something, id choose to err on the side of caution and stay away from it. i'd accept money from other countries but only by a safe way such as wire transfers, cash, international money orders, etc. if it raises a flag, trust your gut over a stranger 5000 miles away. most people are good people, but theres always that piece of shit out there.... doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

here's mine....i have only jumped at the DZ where i started in KY, so i dont know what any other terrain looks like in freefall, so here goes....it starts with me under a just-inflated red canopy. we dont have red canopies at our DZ anyway. but its like i wake up under canopy and i try to figure out how i got there. i look around me and see the red canopy perfectly inflated above me, then look around to see where i am. i seem to be in a beautiful very very hige snowcovered ountain range. I'm flying close to the sides of the mountains on purpose, admiring the beauty of the contrasting snow and rocks. my canopy then collapses and i begin to fall. i just faintly panic then it catches air and reinflates. this happens once more before i come in for a landing. I then land in a flat grassy area with a few friends, some of whom i only see a few times a year, and none of whom are skydivers. my two buddies who promise to go this year with me waited on the ground for me, they werent diving...... ever since, ,i have been determined to dive over the rockies this year. the collapsing chute seems to me to be a manifestation of my only real fear of skydiving. i once had one collapse on me due to a huge crosswind from my left, but fortunately, i was only 5 feet off the ground anyway. collapsing is the only thing i really consciously worry about each time....dream away! doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

damn, thats funny! haha doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

2, sometimes 3, c-180's and a DHC-2 that they call a "beaver" at the DZ. i've only seen them use the "beaver" on days where the weather is so nice that everyone comes on the same day. bigger, nicer planes might be nice, but hell.....we're just gonna jump out of them anyway! doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

speaking purely on the basis of my own personal history.....i dont think most of us divers are "normal" anway. hahaha. we seem to actually live and not exist. doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

become a pimp! doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

no, but im surprised i havent yet. with the excitement and eagerness to get to the dz, i usually fly out there. imusually slower on the way home though. lucky so far i guess doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

how do i rationalize it? im not entirely sure i have. seriously. why do i do it? because it has got to be the most intense pleasure and overall experience ive ever felt. i am well aware of the risks i take by doing it; i ponder them deeply on the ride to altitude and think of backing out every time. but, when that door opens, i realize mishaps are relatively rare and i do have a backup and i have had training on when to judge its necessary to fix a problem or use plan b. i have seen several people use a reserve and have never seen anyone have a double malfunction, so the thought of planting myelf in the ground isnt what i worry about. i dont worry about going unconscious and planting myself either as my rig has an automatic activation device should that happen. what i do worry about is landing smoothly on approach. i know there are serious risks, but they are so rare that the intense plesure of diving overrides them. everything you do has risks. statistically, doing 17 jumps a year equals the risk of driving 10,000 miles a year. everyone knows the risks of just driving down the street, but most of us do it anyway. you just accept that the chances are smaller that it will happen than that it wont, and you go on. i also rationalize it by thinking that if i die doing something i love, i am luckier than somone who dies slowly in a hospital bed. "its not tragic to die doing something you love" as patrick swayze, a real life skydiver, said in Point Break. i agree. doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

i wouldnt call anyone jumping out of a plane, especially at night, "wussing out". i'd want some lights just for safety if nothing else. but, ive got a ways to go before i gotta worry about it anyway doug hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!