Monkeyb

This is a completely fictitious newbie question, but I'm curious. Say you're at 5k and you have a double mal, both chutes fail and you're about to turn in. Would aiming for water be a wise decision? I believe that the speed + water impact would result in instant fatality, but then again you see great cliffdivers out there who also jump from high ass ledges and make it through unscathed. Is there any way you can survive during a teminal velocity impact with water, or is it just as bad as hitting land?

Grats. Yesterday 5/5 marked my 21st birthday :) Another year for both of us!

I want to see it :( Where can I get it? Both links are broken.

I feel the same way. I'm extremely new to the sport (1 tandem and 6 AFF jumps), but I get really uneasy thinking about it sometimes. Like tomorrow I'm gonna go do my level 6 jump, and I have horrible anxiety. Usually the night before a jump I get real uneasy, but during the day when I see the sun I feel better and handle it. Sometimes I think about quitting, but it's been so expensive to get started I'd feel bad flushing my investment down the toilet since even these last 7 jumps have been expensive. Then again, after I jump and make it down safe I feel alot better and forget about it. I guess it's just newbie syndrome.

Grats man! If whether permits, I'm going to do my level 6 tomorrow.

I went out to Elsinore for a level2 retake and the winds were too high for students :( I swear I have the worst luck in the world, this happens more often than I'd like. I live an hour and half away from the DZ and the drive sucks when you don't get to jump. I guess I'll have to wake up earlier next time before the winds pick up.

Congratulations! I'm jealous :P It's gonna be a looooonng way until I graduate. I'm going to Elsinore for my AFF level 2 retake tomorrow. I did some tunnel training a couple of weeks back, and performed real well. Now if I can only grow some balls and focus instead of freaking out at jump time, I should be able to pass.

I'll share my newbie panic story since it seems somewhat relevant to the thread. Although there's no real point to it, I feel the need to post it. A couple of weekends ago on my second-ever AFF jump I had a rough freefall and the JM had to deploy the main for me. I was a bit shook up from the unexpected deploy, and when I looked up I noticed I had my first linetwist which shook me up even more (although it wasn't a big deal). I couldn't see any other canopies nearby and couldn't figure out where I was since the dropzone was nowhere in sight. I was too nervous to steer my canopy and look around, and to top things off my radio wasn't functioning so I couldn't get any guidance from the ground. I figured the smart thing to do was to wait it out until I got closer to the ground, and then I'd be able to see where I was, or maybe the radio would start chatting to me eventually. Well, next thing I know it's like 1500 feet, and I have absolutely no clue where I am or where I should land. I picked a random landing spot next to some baseball field, and had a rough landing (smashed into the ground) because of an early flare. I get up and have no clue where I am, or if anyones gonna come pick me up. It's just a huge open field next to a road, and a house directly behind me. Fortunately for me, a hispanic family comes out wondering if I'm ok and how I ended up there. I was over a mile away from the DZ. Luckily for me the family offered to give me a ride back to Elsinore

I'm a newbie with only 3 AFF jumps and one tandem. I've landed my canopy successfuly only once, and that one was thanks to radio guidance. I have a bad habit of flaring early and eating dirt I feel horrible about it, but it's not really humiliating. As long as I don't get hurt on the landing, I just laugh it off. I too go to Elsinore, and people there are really encouraging. You'll be alright man, trust me, I'm in worse shoes than you are

I've only had 4 jumps so far. I shit my pants every time. Going for another jump this weekend if wheather permits, and I expect to shit my pants yet again. I hope this changes soon, I hate fear :\

Noob question: How do you keep track of where you are from such high altitudes? You can't see through those clouds.. can you?

Wow, props to the man. Good to hear he made it ok.

Holy shit, that sounds so god damn scary :( As an AFF student with very little experience, I would easily piss my pants if I had to go through that. I don't even know if I would be able to remain calm and think things through whiles spinning, especially if I can't find the cutaway.

I never said he was a world champion. World champion bullshitter - that's for sure! I jumped out of bed this morning. That's the lowest base jump in the world. Guiness has no record for the lowest base jump. t lol

One tandem and one AFF1. I'm such a noob, and it's damn expensive to get started. Hopefuly I can pick up pace now that my AFF1 is finished, the first $300 was the hardest to come up with.

Understood. Thanks a bunch for your replies Ed. I will try to get my money together for the wind tunnel and the retake. I'm going to come out there this weekend regardless of my financial situation, so hopefully I'll see you there

Understood. I wasn't aware that the pull was part of my reason for not passing. During the debrief the instructors emphasis was placed on my leg positions, and the same applies to the logbook entry, so I thought that the reason behind me not passing was the position of my legs. I'm confident things will turn out better next time, and I'll be off to the wind tunnel afterwards.

I did attempt to pull at the right altitude lawrocket. Cajones might have made a mistake in saying I forgot to pull. I did attempt to pull, but had trouble finding the ripcord. Either way I'm not here to dispute his decision, I agree with him 100% on his call for a repeat. I will improve on my mistakes and go back up there better prepared next time. All I wanted to know is whether I should chance the retake since I have a great deal for $100, or wait until I have money for the wind tunnel. Again, I appreciate the feedback and don't want to be misinterpreted as an obnoxious student. I just needed to vent a bit yesterday because I felt bad about the repeat and wanted some help in deciding my next course of action. At this point I think I've decided to take up the $100 offer. I'll prepare myself mentally as much as possible this time, but I'm aware that mental preparation is no replacement for the wind tunnel. I do plan on doing the tunnel next, regardless of whether I pass or fail my jump, but I feel guilty passing up this deal. I'll let you guys know how it goes this time around, and god willing I'll end up saving myself $80

Hey ed :) Good to see you chief! Don't take this post offensively, as I'm not disagreeing with you, I completely understand where you and Taz are coming from. It just felt bad seeing my friend Travis pass. He's itching to go back next week, and I have (what seems like) an offer I can't refuse. Right now I'm just trying to figure out whether I should try it again without the wind tunnel experience, or pass up the $80 discount and take my time with it. Since you were my JM, I would appreciate your take on it. I really want to jump again and save those $80, but I would feel like a dope if I fail because I was unprepared. What do you think I should do? By the way thanks for all the responses everyone, they are highly appreciated!

Does anyone else feel like a pathetic loser after not passing? I failed my level 2 today because I didn't extend my legs far enough. The exit went fine, I was stable the entire time, my test pulls went fine my 90 degree turns went fine, and my landing went fine... but my form wasn't there since I didn't extend my legs enough. The log entries show I did everything very well, so besides my leg problem I think I'm fine. It's my fourth jump and I'm still on level 2 :( They recommended I do a wind tunnel before I jump again, but now I have another problem. As a student, I am limitted on money. The reception desk lady told me she'd let me retake the jump for $100 if I promise 100% to come in this week, but the offer is only good for 7 days. I don't have enough money to do a wind tunnel and the retake in one week, but if I fail again I'll feel like a complete idiot. My question: Do I pass up the $100 retake deal and pay the full $180 when I have enough for the wind tunnel and the jump, or chance it with the $100 deal and hope I pass? This is like a mixed venting/advice post, so any responses would be appreciated.

Nice. Those earphones will work wonders hehe. I know safety is a concern. I'm not saying I will or won't do this, I just wondered if its a possibility. Good to hear all the different feedback from everyone though. Once I go through my first 50 jumps I'm sure I'll be able to assess the risks myself, and at that point in may be worth trying, for now I'll let the idea pass :)

Hey guys, I know this is a very newbie question to ask as I'm sure this has been discussed many times, but... is it possible to somehow have headphones when you jump or are there any helmets with auditory plugs that support mp3 players and such? I'm new to diving, I've gone on one tandem and just passed my level I freefall a couple weeks back, but I plan to go all the way and get my license, I'm in love. I imagine the combination of music with freefalling makes for an amazing experience and would like to try it one day.

Wow! Dude that is awesome. I am very happy for your sister, I'm sure she loved the experience. Absolutely awesome

Woops, I just realized that hehe, hopefully an admin see's this and moves it for me.

Back in March I decided to go for my first tandem skydive, and it was the same as everyone else here... I loved it! Last weekend I went in for my first AFF course and knew I was addicted. I'm now ready to go through and get my license. This place seems like a great online skydiving community so I've decided I'm going to roam these forums along with the rest of you. With that said, anyone know what the best DZ's are near Los Angeles? I'm going to Skydive Elsinore right now, but I want to scout out my options. Is it possible to take one level at one place and another level somewhere else, or do you have to stick to the same DZ until you have your license? I look forward to some good discussions :)