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I am glad you got it to come up. I am very happy with the jump. I am goign to ask the instructors a couple questions using the video today though. Can't get enoigh critiques. David

Will do.

I will take that under advisement. I was goign to use gum, but they wanted me to spit it out before getting in the plane yesterday. They gave me an Altoid on the way up though. It helped. David

I posted a new mssage in thsi forum that says "UPDATE:"....

Will do. Did you see my update post? David

Thanks! I am happy, happy, happy!

Well everyone, today was the day for redoing my AFF-1. And I did it!! WOOHOO!!! I had 2, 5 minute sessions in the wind tunnel at Perris yesterday. The first was very messy as expected beign the first time in freefall by myself. The second, 3 hours later, was a remarkable difference. There is something to be said for muscle memory. I still had problems but the flight instructor let me go a lot and he said I really godd for only the second time. So that boosted my confidence. Got the video and t-shirt btw! lol Today I switched my AFF program to Perris and after my third First Jump Course , I got in the air in the Twin Otter and jumped out. I was a little apprehensive, but with 2 great J/M's, the got me mostly over the fear and got me out the door. The freefall felt so peaceful. It was a lot of fun. My arch needs work of course but everything else went well up to pulling. They unleanred me most of what different thigns I had been taught but one. When it came time to pull for myself, I got the Pilot Chute out, but as in habit and training, I held on to it like a ripcord, just like I had been taught to do in the past. I just need to practice and unlearn that. Won't be hard to fix and I passed Level I any way. Tomorrow I go bac for level 2 possibly up to 5 if I can hack it. I have the rest of the week off to play. I feel so good right now! What a rush! Anyway, if you want to check out the video, Perris puts it on the web for sharing. Below is the link, please take a look. Don't be too hard on the newbie! lol David http://www.realxstream.com/?XStreamID=44092

LOL Motorcycles aren't dangerous, it is the cage drivers on the road that are. Saturday ev ening here in town, I almost met my maker twice in a 3 block area David

I feel encouraged that I was able to do the tadem. I haven't given up and want to skydive really bad. I took this week off to pursue this and do some other things. I will get there! Thanks for the encouragement David

Well, I lost the $199 for the AFF-1 and the $99 fo the video and had to pay $229 for the tandem. If the tandem hadn;t worked, I would have quit. I am going on a motorcycle ride today to get my mind off the situation and will do the wind tunnel tomorrow morning. Thanks for the great ideas on the helping the mouth dryness. I will give those a try. Gum might work to. David

I did a tandem instead of the AFF-1.

Well, I was all ready to go to do my AFF Level 1 this morning but it didn't work out. It took so long to get to 12500 AGL, and by the time we got there I had dry mouth really bad and felt kinda sick. My hands were shaking really bad to. One of the jumpmasters said my lips were a little blue also so I may have had a touch of hypoxia. After a 2 year lay off from S/L jumping, I don't think I was ready for the excitement yet. I should have done a tandem first. I took about an hour or so to try to decide what to do and I decided to go ahead and do a tandem, which I did do. I forced myself to do it because I had to know I could still jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I had the dry mouth really bad again but didn't feel sick, just extra nervous. It was hard for me to go. I closed my eyes until the J/M touched me on the shoulder. He said I arched pretty well and he let me do my COA's and pull the ripcord. Unfortunately, he had the harness so tight on me, I was very uncomfortable and had a hard time feeling good about the canopy flight. It took me a minute or two to get my bearings, but I was able to fly the canopy most of the way and recover from it. I am still sure I can be a good skydiver, it may just take me a little longer to do it. Also, with advice of my J/M, I am going to Perris Valley Sunday for some wind tunnel training to boost my confidence a little. I imagine I will be back at the local DZ for AFF-1 by Monday. I just wish I hadn't lost $300 for going with my gut and not jumping. I know I did the right thing, it still hurts the wallet and may cost me more time. My J/M said the wind tunnel training should save me some money over the long run. I sure hope so. I am positive I am not the only person this has happened to, but I wanted to share my experiences with others. Regardless of what happens, I have to do this AFF-1 jump soon. I feel like this is something I have to do in my life. I want it very bad. The good things in life are worth working hard for. After 3 tandems and 11 S/L jumps 2 years ago and the tandem today, I should be able to do it. David

Thanks. I am sure it will be fun and pretty sure it will go well. David

I figured I wasn't the only person that had problems with S/L. My new AFF instructor told me the technique is quite outdated and he wasn't surprised it didn't work for me. After 8 hours of instruction I felt much more comfortable and confident, while still a little scared. Unfortunately, I did not get to do my AFF-1 jump that day as the ground winds picked up above student maximum. As for me being afraid to tell the instructors, it was just because I didn't want to appear to know more than anyone else or to be a "know it all." The manifest lady asked about previous experience any way while do my paperwork. They want to know so they can tailor the class some. It turned out to be a really good thing as the instructor was able to mostly break me of putting my arms all the way out in the "X" pattern you spoke of. I am pretty sure I can arch properly and he said I did that pretty well during the dirt diving. Only the first jump will tell. I have the jump rescheduled for Friday at 0700 with a 1-hour review of the class prior. I am really looking forward to it. I have been very disappointed since Sunday and have been loosing sleep every night since I originally scheduled the class last Thursday. I truly believe I can become a good Skydiver. My plan is to do the jump Friday and if all goes well, keep going.l I am taking a week of leave starting Thursday night. With exception of Friday, I plan to be at the DZ each day to do at least one jump. I am hoping I will get to jump out of the Otter instead of the 206 as all my S/L was in a 182. I just would prefer the "normal" jump airplane of the 206. I know I will jump out of it sooner or later, just preference. Thanks for the advice. David

Thank you for your advice. I didn't want to appear to know everything but I don't necessarily need to be talked to like a brand new student either. I will take in everything they say though. Since it has been awhile, I need to treat this as a new thig I am trying out. David

After being discouraged after 11-12 unsuccessful static line jumps, I am going to a different DZ on Sunday for my first AFF jump. Boy am I scared! :) Hopefully this will work out for me this time. I just couldn't quite grab the practice ripcord before the chute threw me around. The previous DZ was of little help and without AFF training. My thinking is that this will be a different learning process as well as a new chance to do something I want to do. Any thoughts or advice? Should I even tell the instructors about my previous experiences? David

I have about $1500 wrapped up into 3 tandems and 9 static lines. Not getting anywhere with static line so I quit in October knowing that I will be moving near a dropzone with AFF so I can switch over. Old Dropzone did not. Not wasted money but leary of spending more. I am going to go on though. I want to get my license. I just believe my learning method is different that my last dropzone was teaching. Will be relocated early February and ready to jump again. David

I looked yesterday. Its back up again.

What helmet and camera mount are you using for your Sony TRV? It seems all the major helmet manufacturers are only making mounts for the smaller DV cameras.

I apologize. Not used to psoting here. Won't happen again.

Thanks Wendy. I am glad to know that I am not the only person to have this problem. Hopefully it will be past soon. I am taking a few days off from jumping to gatehr my thoughts and hopefully break the chain. David

I seem to be relaxed until we hit around 200 feet and then my nerves act up. I can get out on the wing and hang jsut fine now after the first disaster of slipping off of the strut. The pilot from that jump was surprised I came back Saturday. That kind of made me feel good. She said most people quit after that happens to them. I do love this sport and am having fun with it. I will keep goign back as long as I have the financial means to do so. I jsut don't want this to become a money pit. David

Thanks for the advice. I will give that a try.

If my instructor's heard you say that they would probably shoot you on the spot. They jsut want me to look straight up at the plane and pull the ripcord. My problem is that I seem to instinctively want to look down at where my hand is. Most of the time I don't even realize I am doing it but I can see it on the videotape. David

I do need to practice more. You are right about that. Can't switch to AFF as it isn't offered here. David