Chew

Thanks for the info Jtval! I wish I had time to Skydive! I am on a work function, so most of the days are going to be taken up. But in the evenings, drink is my main priority! Freemont street sounds good to me, I think I will check it out, Thanks again!

I not really much of a gambler which is why I am looking for bars and clubs out side of the big hotels. I have heard the ride on the tower is a must??

Thanks Nightingale! I am staying in the Paris so i am Glad to see that its recomended!

Look out, I'm comin to Vegas! I'm just looking for some advice from anyone from Vegas or anyone who's been there as to whats hot and whats not!! Does anyone know any cool pubs, clubs etc where the beer is cheap and the women are hot? Any help in assisting me get plastered for a week would be much appreciated! And if anyone wants to meet up for a beer, I'm buying! As long as you have suggested a good sub! Matt

I'm feeling your pain!!! Consols are a real pain in the rear! Waiting for instrucors to be on a lift and Student wind holds are slowing me down big time! Having spent about 18 hours at the DZ I have managed 3 consols!! ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

Having only 11 jumps, I haven't had the chance to see many things go wrong yet, well, that was until my last jump of the weekend! There I was, waiting for the last lift of the day when I see two mals in one load. I saw one guy cut away from his main that wouldn't open and another who had two canopy's out. The guy with two canopy's out started to spin into a downplane and for some reason he didn't cut away. He hit the ground with quite a bump but lucky he was ok and walked away a little bruised. As this was the first mal I had witnessed I was a little shaken but I decided I would still jump as I thought it would be better get this out of my system sooner rather than later. The ride up was fine until I noticed my Alti was stuck on 10K when we were at 12.5K. Ok not a major problem but as I only have 11 jumps I was a little worried. I told my instructor who told me that it would probably start to work again on the way down. Great I thought, I hope so I just thought to myself if people on the ground started to look big and my alti was still reading 10K, then I would pull, yes I know what you are thinking, its not rocket science!! So, the door opens and I am third out, the first two go and then I hear the jump master shout Stop! There was plane underneath us! The pilot radioed down to see what was going on and it was the other jump plane coming into land. It landed and we went around for another pass. Now remember that I only have 11 jumps under my belt, I have just witnessed my first mal on the ground, my alti is stuck and we are going around for a second pass after a scare with a plane! I am a little nervey and i'm thinking about not jumping while waiting for the next thing to go wrong! And then I see it, the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. The door was open and I was next out, the sun was setting and I could see coast line looking an amazing pinky purpley yellow and I thought to myself, hey this is what its all about! All the fear disapeared and I just wanted to get a closer look at that view! YEEHAAAAWWW Out I go! I just enjoyed that view alllllllll the way down and thankfully, nothing else went wrong. All in all that was probably my best/worst skydive so far, if that makes any sense! I just wanted to share that experience with you all as I am sure you will have had similar days! 2 Lessons learnt for myself - 1. Mals are a part of the sport, get over it! 2. Skydiving at sunset is REALLY COOL, do more of it! Chew!!

Can anyone recommend some good Skydiving DVD's?

I felt exactly the same on jump 2! I was way to focused on what I was doing on Level 1 to get too scared, but on level 2 you have a little more time to contemplate what you are about to do! And thats when the fear sets in. My AFF Instructor said it is very common and that a lot of people are more worried about their second jump! And as for tempting fate, just ask your instructor who will probably have about 4000 jumps under their belt if they are tempting fate yet And at the end of the day, if it wasn't so scary it wouldn't be so much of a buzz!! Good luck with Level 2 and have FUN FUN FUN!!!

Hi Beth, Congrats to you too on the Cat 8!! 5,000 was the lowest I jumped out at for my hop and pop! My other jumps were at 13,000. I was lucky enough to do one jump at 15,000 as we had to do a second pass on a big load, that was mad, freefall went on for ages! I hope I can do that again!

Hi Guys! I did my first jump a few weeks ago and have been bitten by the bug big time! I passed level 8 on Sunday, wow it was amazing jumping from 5K! Now I have just got to do 9 more consols to get my A. I am loving every second of this sport and dreading coming back to work at the end of the weekend more and more!! How do you guys do it!! So whats next? What do most people do once they have their A licence? I would really like to jump with other people but I dont know how my finance will cope with more training!!

Inside me, terror had taken hold and was growing. Hello!! I am on L6 of my AFF and I can remember feeling more scared on level 2 also. On Level 1 I was so focused on my drills that I didn't have time to think about being scared. But on level 2 I didn't have so much to think about and a major fear set in! My instructor told me that a lot of AFF students feel more nervous on the second jump so its wasn't to much to worry about. But after that the fear turns to excitement and gets better with every jump! Good luck with your level 7, I am doing mine next weekend if the weather holds! Chew.

Thanks! And yes I will keep you upto date on what I get upto. I am away this weekend so have to wait until the weekend after to my next 3 levels. It makes my whole body tingle with excitement just thinking about it.

Its not boring to read! I am going through my AFF at the moment and I can relate exactly to the mixed emotions you felt. I think my fear turned to excitement on level 5 when I saw my instructor in front of me and felt like I was flying for the first time!

haha, any advice on Landing would be great! So I dont Chew on the Grass anymore!!!

I also had a different canopy for my 5th jump that seemed a lot more responsive, so maybe that is why I managed to stay on my feet! But I think you are right, there has to be some luck involved too! It sure is hard to judge how high you are when you are that close to landing. Lots and Lots more practice I think! Any excuse to get back up there!