mctyeire

Hey, welcome and best wishes for your training. Come visit us at Carolina Sky Sports in Louisburg (near Raleigh). See ya! Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

Have fun. I suspect the financial reconfiguration is just beginning. How attached are you to the bike? Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

Sometimes I think, "This is really strange...I never giggle like this on the ground."

My early AFF jumps were spread out over MONTHS (a very bad way to learn skydiving...) and I had to repeat level 2. I passed level 3 on the first try, but did not feel at all prepared to proceed with the progression (no confidence in my ability to maintain stable freefall with heading awareness...). I really felt I needed to repeat level 3. Before I could schedule a repeat, distractions (work and other non-discretionary projects) intensified, and I did not jump again for an agonizing 8 months. But I knew what I had to do, and a plan gradually formed. Finally, I broke away from everyday life to spend 9 days in central Florida learning to skydive. I had to begin with a refresher on FJC topics and repeat level 3... spent some time in the wind tunnel... no repeats on remainder of progression... and on the 2nd weekend I was solo-jumping (and packing) my own rig. Unlike most of my recent pursuits, the skydiving learning curve is not primarily intellectual and can not be approached away from the action. Even the mental aspects can only be learned in the air, and there's really not much you can do away from the DZ except forget lessons learned. Though still a novice, I am now well on my way, and would advise fellow newbies to not string it out, but to attack the learning curve as aggressively as time and finances permit. Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

IMHO: In some contexts, skydiving humor is a healthy and highly effective coping mechanism in a stressful environment. Sometimes it's just plain fun. In other contexts - if it is in reference to a specific tragedy, or carelessly offensive to someone, the same humor can be distasteful and inappropriate. Just basic humanity here... but aren't skydivers a somewhat skewed subset of humanity? Golfer screws up, sounds like: (Whack) ... "Oh, shit!" Skydiver screws up, sounds like: "Oh, shit!" ... (Whack). Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

Butterflies? After 35 jumps, I still feel them. When they get intense, I start checking handles and visualizing emergency procedures. That usually calms them down a bit. I don't really want them to go away. They will probably save my life someday! I am obsessed with exits lately. At 20 jumps I could hardly get out without doing a flip or two. Now I have a sense of FLYING on "the hill" - no flips, some sense of the inertial and aerodynamic forces, but still not very steady or with a sense of being entirely in control. I think I will be working on this for a long time. When I get butterflies from performance anxiety, I work on visualizing the exit, which seems to get better and more realistic with experience. Like the others said, just get out and get stable, and have fun! Now, I have to search the forums for advice on my exits... Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

(Hysterical laughter...trailing off into awkward silence...) You were, man, you were! They don't know. They JUST DON'T KNOW...

Yep, me too. And on the lowered-anxiety jumps I have higher awareness and better performance. A bit of lingering, well-managed jump anxiety is probably very healthy. Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

Don't forget, all you really have to do this time is enjoy the ride. Have a great skydive! Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

Welcome! Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

Nothing but a single car key, tied to a beltloop with a pullup cord, in pocket under jumpsuit. Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

Climb the lines and clear the malfunction! Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

Blue Skies, Pops Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

Welcome Back! How long were you away? Did you look at the sky a lot while you were on the golf course? I was "away" for a while between getting hooked and getting serious about completing AFF. It was torture. Sounds like you have other interests that have not been entirely extinguished. That's probably healthy. Some of us have trouble managing competing interests... Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...

Welcome to dropzone.com. I'm pretty new myself...Try this: Find an image and save it on your computer. It must be "10 KB, 65x75 pixels. JPG only." Go to EDIT PROFILE on the blue menu bar, then USER PROFILE, then click on the 2nd radio button from left for a custom icon, then BROWSE to where the file is stored on your computer, then click OPEN, then click the SAVE PROFILE CHANGES button at the bottom of the screen. Or something like that... Have Fun! Chad good friends, blue skies, and sweet, sweet altitude...