kerk1v

Well, it's definitely postponed till September, by my doctor's reccomendation and also because she can't issue the compulsory medical certificate I need here in Spain before I'm fully cured, because she needs to do a blood test for that, and the antibiotics I'm still taking (the third one we tried seems to help al last, it seems like I got some nasty resistent bacteria strain) would distort the results. I hope Mike's and Dan's book gets delivered soon so I can at least do some reading.

Hi, I called these guys a couple of weeks ago when inquiring about an AFF. They have temporarily moved to Skydive Castellón, and it looks very much as if they're there to stay, meaning it is uncertain that they'll be able to return to St. Fruitós del Bages in the Barcelona province after the summer. After discontinuation of skydiving activities in Sabadell many years ago, this again leaves the Barcelona region without a DZ nearby, forcing us to drive about 2 hrs either way, north or south, to get either to Castellón or to Empuriabrava.

Mike, Ordered from Dan's place, but in English, as it sold out on Amazon as I was looking around in town, without luck, and the latest edition will not be available from them until september. :-( Why english? Well, I'd always read "originals" rather than translations, especially when it comes to a language I feel acceptably comfortable with. And since the JMs at Ampuriabrava seem to be from all around Europe, I think I can take my pick at one who speaks english, so I don't have to change the "vocabulary" after I've read the book. :-) Now, which me luck that this sinusitis I've been struggling with this week goes away completely in the next 2 weeks, yes, I'm beeing a good boy and taking my antibiotics, all the pack right to the end, but I'm not taking a chance if I feel it has not cleared away completely. The pain is already *highly* unconfortable in an airliner, which pressurizes at (I think) 8.000', and I don't want to find out what it's going to be like at 18.000' See you, blue skies!

Thanks, Mike, looks like I need to get me that book like now. Such a luck for all of us that Amazon exists because the spanish translation, the only one I would stand a realistic chance to get here has been out of print for quite a while. You're also putting too much trust in spanish town libraries... All I found on skydiving here was an old book (from the 60s) on aerodynamics which had a chapter on round parachutes (shudder) in it. Thanks for the flattering remark about my english! Blue skies, Volker

'fraid not much. For one like mine, I'd have to put money on top, I think. Tried selling any of the things you don't need on Ebay? Real crap sometimes goes for ludicrous prices, and you can always cover your ass with a reserve price. Only if strictly needed, else it scares many buyers off.

Hi, I've been living close to a DZ in Spain most of my youth. At the time it was a (seemingly) poorly-run venue, eventually it startet attracting more people and seemed to get more popular, but then they held a world championship there, and things really took off. I'm talking, of course, about Ampuriabrava. At the tender age of 21 my curiosity about skydiving needed to be satisfied, so I went for a tandem, and I really fell for it... AFFs were cheap at that time, at least cheaper than now, but still I could not afford one. Imagine that almos 6 months savings went on the tandem, so figure... From then on, when I went to see my mom I always looked up whe I heard the familiar humming of the Otter or the Pilatus, watching the dots fly in the sky and the colorful canopies deploying for the final smooth ride to the ground. She also rents part of her house (actually a spare flat and a studio she has there) and of course ocassionally there are skydivers renting from her. Incidentally, she always happens to be very effective at keeping me away from her place when there are skidivers there... Just today she called for my birthday, and as a side-comment she mentioned "ah, yes, and I just had skydivers at the flat for 2 weeks, but they're leaving today". GRRRR! Anyways, the last 13 years jobs, marriage, a kid and life (and associated expenses ) got in the way of getting things done, but things are settled enough to go for an AFF before the summer ends. The DZ of choice, also nearest to where I live (Barcelona) is going to be Ampuriabrava, naturally. By what I've heard and read, that still seems a good choice, except for the eventual Tramuntane winds ruining a couple of days, but since it takes me a scant 2 hours to get there, there isn't much at loss. My plan is to start AFF part I (they require a Tandem first, possibly to check your "airwortyness" ) Tandem and Level I mid-August, and then try 2 levels on each subsequent Weekend, so I'll be done and can start my consolidation jumps mid-september and get me my first gear for christmas. I hope that sounds all sensible enough. See you at the DZ, and up there!