SkyDivesAreUs

Members
  • Content

    15
  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never
  • Feedback

    N/A

Community Reputation

0 Neutral

Jump Profile

  • Home DZ
    Skydive Crosskeys
  • License
    A
  • Licensing Organization
    USPA
  • Number of Jumps
    36
  1. I still get a little nervous, especially on the first jump of the day everytime I go. A lot of the fear I had went away when I did my first high solo, it was just so much fun and for the first time I didn't have anything to focus on and could just do whatever I wanted and just have fun. Now I'm more excited then nervous most of the time but I like being a little nervous, one of my instructors always taught me to go into every jump assuming the main will fail so you can be mentally ready for it whenever it happens instead of being too complacent and maybe panicking when it eventually does happen. Have fun man! I'm only around 40 jumps myself and still relatively newly licensed but it just keeps getting better and better.
  2. Did a tandem because I've always just wanted to do it just to say I did and seeing that a friend tried it pushed me to just go for it. Then someone I knew wanted to go because they heard I did it so I went again with them the next week. Then another friend and a family member wanted to try it so I went for a third time the week after that. Then I couldn't stop thinking about it so I went back for a fourth week in a row and some people recognized me by that point and just convinced me to start the program and get licensed and they just happened to be doing a ground school that day so I did my first AFP jump and groundschool that day and now can't imagine myself stopping lol
  3. Just wanted to drop back in and say thank you so much for everything everybody! I've been reading every reply as they've been coming in over the past few days and I love how awesome and helpful everyone seems to be every time I have a skydiving related question whether it's online or in person, completely different atmosphere than what I'm used to. I usually don't want to ask questions because I feel like every question I have seems basic and always think I'll get a "really dude? just google it" because I don't know what's a dumb question and what's not and try to learn just by reading and listening at the DZ but as I'm sure you guys all know there's just so much to learn about this sport, more so than I ever could of imagined when I decided to get into it, but hearing from people with experience is much more comforting, thank you all so much again for taking time out to help a newbie with basic questions and for all the suggestions!
  4. I've bought a container/harness and reserve, I've been looking to buy a main canopy and am looking for a 170 or somewhat similar size. The rental gear I've been using is mainly sabre 2's so that's what I'm most familiar with but it's been a struggle to find a 170 for a reasonable price on a sabre 2, is there any other brands that aren't so aggressive and more friendly for newer jumpers? Found an amazing deal on a 170 stiletto but after looking into them it seems they're more aggressive and for more experienced people (at least based off descriptions) and I'm still a little timid under canopy so I'm looking for something a little more docile.
  5. Thanks everyone for the responses! General consensus seems to be that they're undoubtedly a good idea and much safer, being newer I'm all about safety so at least for the time being I decided I'm just going to end up getting one and sticking with it for a long time to come especially until I'm very well experienced, and even then I might end up deciding to just stick with it haha Thanks again! Edit: Sorry for another stupid question, is there anything in particular I should know about or lean towards when getting one? I know there's no one size fits all but I mean should it be as tight as it can be while still maintaining mobility? Somewhat looser? I'm kind of taller and a light guy (almost 6 foot and maybe 145 pounds soaking wet). Or something else all together I'm unaware of? Thanks in advance!
  6. Hello everyone! I'm still a student so I have to wear one every jump I do as of now but I'm going to be getting my license really soon (damn weather preventing my fun time )and was wondering just how important they are. I know they help your fall rate but during student progression you learn fall rate control and was wondering if that would be good enough if you practice it. I'm assuming if you're really light jumping with someone really heavy than controlling your fall rate might not be enough but I honestly just don't like jumpsuits lol I mean if they're somewhat vital to jumping with people and keeping up with them then I'll just suck it up and get one because at this point nothing is going to stop me from jumping (especially something as trivial as what I'm wearing while doing it lol) but as of now I'm still piecing together my own rig and money is kind of tight since I bought a harness/container and a reserve and was wondering if it's worth the expense. Main reason I'm asking is because I've watched enough videos with people jumping without them and people at my dropzone jumping without them and having no problems keeping up with each other to make me wonder just how important they actually are. Sorry if this is a dumb question, still relatively new to the sport and there's just so much to take in and just wanted opinions from experienced jumpers.
  7. ^What he said, I'm still fairly new myself and had a basic understanding of a gear check like making sure the pin is fully pushed in and stuff like that, finally just asked a rigger if he had time to go over a gear check more in depth with me and told him what I knew already, he went over things I would of never guessed to look at, was extremely helpful and told me the next couple times I come in if he isn't in the middle of something to just pull him aside and have him watch me do one to make sure I have it down if I'm unsure. After all it's something that could save your life. Skydivers seem to be pretty friendly people, don't hesitate to ask about what you don't know
  8. Well it turns out I should of had it myself and should of had it filled out as I go. I was talking with one of the most experienced skydivers at the place (he works there) and another student so the A-license got brought up, I should of had it and been filling it out the whole time, he immediately walked over to the front desk and ripped it off my pink sheets to give it to me and signed off on some of the things I did today and was somewhat annoyed that my original AFP instructor didn't even go over it with me from the start and that I was told I could have it filled out later by someone else. Landed with precision three times out of all my jumps so far but could only have him sign off on the 1 today because I never marked it down in my log book (instructors wrote the stuff in there up until recently and they never mentioned them) or had it filled out with the instructors who are now gone to another DZ due to the weather shifting where I'm at. Based off what's written in my log book and the pink sheets I can have some of it filled in but I could of had well over half of it filled out and signed if I had it from the start It's not so bad in some sense, I only need 3 more coach jumps and a few fun jumps to reach 25 but I honestly don't feel ready to be licensed yet anyway and was planning to hold off on my check dive until I felt ready so getting some more practice isn't too bad IMO, mainly feel like I need more time under canopy more then freefall lol. Still sucks a little that I've already performed certain requirements on it and didn't get them signed off so I'll have to do them again and could of started practicing certain things on it if I knew they were a requirement
  9. So I went to the dropzone yesterday after work to try and get a jump in even though I couldnt jump because the caravan was down for inspection and they could only take the c-182 up and they ran out of time to do anymore loads. While I was there I asked them about it and it turns out its stapled to the back of all the pink sheets they were filling out after each jump, weird thing is they didnt have anythig filled out on the card itself but she said they could do that later based off the notes on all my jumps. Luckily the winds are dying down and the weathers looking nice so Ill hopefully get all my coach jumps and fun jumps in and complete all the requirements within a week or two
  10. Just finished up my AFP about a week or two ago, I'm not sure which of the two I need but besides the logbook that I've been having filled out after each AFP jump, I didn't realize there was another application that needs to be filled out. Sorry if this is a stupid question but is this something the dropzone already has and is filling out after each jump? (usually they have their own forms they would fill out seperate from my logbook, but it was a pinksheet that doesn't look like either of the A license papers I saw on the USPA website) Or is this something I need to print out off of the USPA website and bring with me so I can get it filled out after each jump? Considering I only need my 5 coach jumps I feel like I should of already had this being filled out to make sure I meet all the requirements but am unsure if this is the case Only reason I even found out about it was because a jumper I met when hanging out after hours told me to review the A license requirements and make sure I'm practicing them even on fun jumps.
  11. I have yet to tell anyone besides my closest friends that I started skydiving because I figure most people wouldn't get it or understand, but I work with family and they tell literally everyone as soon as there's a pause in the conversation. So far only one guy was pretty interested in it and wanted to hear about it and now he might even want to come to the dropzone with me and do a tandem Other then that, it's always the same exact same questions/statements so far "Your crazy" "What would make you want to jump out of a perfectly good plane" "Aren't you afraid the parachute will fail and you'll die?" "There's no way I'd ever do that" If they tell me I'm crazy I just say "so I'm told" with a smile. If they ask why I'd want to jump out of a plane I tell them "believe it or not I'm more scared of being in the plane then I am jumping out of it, plus it's one of the best things I've ever done" lol which is true, I never flew in a plane before skydiving and the feeling of being inside one was so freaky to me I couldn't wait to just get out of it, for some reason my biggest fear every time I go is getting in and being in the plane even though I'm pretty well equipped if something were to go wrong in that moment but once I'm actually out of it, I'm perfectly fine , usually they just respond by saying they'd never do something like that. If they ask if I'm afraid it will fail I just tell them that's why there's a back up and that I started off studying everything about skydiving religiously so I can (hopefully) be prepared when that time comes and act accordingly.
  12. Just wanted to come back and say thank you all again! Graduated AFP and did my first High solo yesterday at sunset which was the most incredible view ever Bought beer and hung out at the DZ for a few hours after the last load, met a lot of people and got a lot of great advice. Most of the people I talked to reassured me of what you guys said, never be afraid to ask questons but just make sure I'm asking the right people, a lot of them didn't mind sitting down with me having a beer and just going over stuff in detail with me and even reassured me that even if it's something super basic, it doesn't matter, ask if you don't know. Was a lot of fun and now I know a lot of names and regulars who go there! Not that it's relevant but that high solo....omg lol Was by far the best jump I've had and had to be the most fun thing I've ever done in my life, felt like I had SOO much time up there because I wasn't focused on doing certain routines with an instructor. I almost can't imagine a scenario now where I'd stop jumping after how amazing that was. Definitely curbed some of my fear about all this and made me more confident in my own abilities at least to some degree. Wasn't planning on jumping today but still went to hang out at the DZ because I knew they were gonna be busy today and I wanted to watch people coming in for landings so I had a better idea of what to do in heavy traffic but changed my mind after a few hours and did my low solo today which I didn't think I'd like but it was awesome having the sky to myself and being able to play with the canopy without fear of people being around me and me fucking up somehow. Even though I messed up my position on exit and went unstable for a few seconds. (can't stop looking at the ground for some reason when I first leave the plane instead of remembering to keep my head up and arched) But anyway, thank you all so much!
  13. Damn that actually might of been my mistake, I went back to look at their announcment of it in early September and the exact phrasing was " All A license holders are welcome" but in the comments one of my AFP instructors said it's highly recommended for students of all levels. It would of been a two day course and 6 jumps to go with it, I might not of been able to do the jumps because I'm still not at solo status but I might of been able to go just to sit in and soak up as much information as possible. Looking back it seems like they had him come at least two times this year so hopefully early next year I'll already have my license and be able to get the full experience I've actually been considering buying his video canopy course for the time being, do you think it would be a worthwhile investment? It's cool to know I've been doing some things right, at my DZ if you walk through the hangar they have a door that leads to a back patio where the field everyone lands in is, I got advice from one of the highly experienced jumper who has been jumping for 25 years and has over 29000 jumps and he told me stand out there and watch landings because I might learn a thing a two and have been doing that ever since :D Every time I go too I spend at least ten to fifteen minutes in their training room practicing my EP's on the set up they have, hopefully won't need them for a long time but still want to be ready. I'm almost intimidated to some degree about all the information that goes with skydiving, of course not intimidated enough to keep me from learning and doing it thank you for all the tips it's greatly appreciated!
  14. Thank you all so much for the responses! My one instructor already briefed me on beer haha, basically told me it's commonplace for people to buy the DZ beer after every milestone like upgrade to solo status, acquiring a-license, every 100 or thousand jumps, or if you do something dumb or if you're just always hanging out after hours then it's just decent to occasionally pitch in too. Since my next jump is a graduation jump I've been looking forward to doing that as it seems like it would definitely be a nice icebreaker and easy way for me to meet and get to know some of the regulars who go there. There's one guy at the DZ who is a newer A-license holder who has been getting a little shit from the more experienced jumpers for various reasons lately and every time they're going over stuff with him about better ways to do stuff or what he should be doing instead I always stand by and listen in just so I don't make the same mistakes, at first I was afraid I was coming off as awkward and creepy for just eavesdropping on people but based off some of the comments it seems like that's something I should be doing especially if it's something I'm unfamiliar with
  15. First off, hello everyone! Did my first tandem within 2 months ago amd fell in love instanty, since then started my AFP and because of 15 minutes in a wind tunnel after my CAT B-1 jump I've been blowing through my AFP with no problem and my instructors even said they have nothing to say or correct after we land. Assuming I pass, my next jump will be my graduation jump to solo status followed by my high and low solo jumps, and while theyre telling me how great I'm doing, I'm still very unsure of myself and what I know about the sport. I've been reading the SIM and watching safety videos but I feel like talking to people with experience would be a better way to learn but usually the instructors are pretty busy and I dont want to hold them up with beginner (probably basic) questions. Im still blown away by how much there actually is to this sport. Everyone I've met at the DZ has been awesome and super chill but is it annoying for some noob to come up and ask things about safety, canopy control, ground speed and why its important(overheard others talking about it, never heard of it before that), a more in depth explanation of a gear check (only have a basic understanding like make sure the pin is fully pushed in), I feel like Im going to be there a lot so I dont want to get on peoples nerves and Im usually pretty shy and reserved around people I dont know so I dont know a good way to go about it without being annoying but Im nervous about my own abilities especially because I realize its not just my own safety but other peoples safety I have to worry about too. Any tips on the most important things to focus on for someone who is basically just starting out or a decent way to ask people at the DZ without annoying them? I've already learned so much but theres been so much information thrown at within a relatively short time span that its kind of hard to keep track of and remember everything too. Sorry if this is a stupid question, I just cant stop feeling like this is something Im really gonna be invested in and the last thing i want to do is be that annoying guy at the DZ but at the same time make sure im doing and know what im supposed to