Jeth

Take your rig home and practice in the evenings or over the winter (if applicable). It really helps to do it when you're not trying to get on a load! (But also, I found that when I do it at the dz, I get lots of great tips from the experienced people around me. Thats nice.

Jeth (obviously). I got it in HS. My buddy reversed the first letter of my first and last names. It just stuck over the years. Wia (I hate this one). My dad and my best friend call me this. Its a long story. Babycakes. My hubby calls me this. We almost never call each other by name.

Yep, same here. I'm not nervous in the door. But when I was a student I was scared shitless beforehand! I could never eat anything at the dz, all day long! And I had a few times I was so freaked I was white as a sheet and had to hold back the tears. But once I got into the door, I just wanted to get out there and feel the wind in my face! My instructor couldn't believe it. With how nervous I was on the ground, she expected me to really hesitate on exit. But I just went for it.

Right on! C'mon down!

Ha! I used to do the same thing in my office! (Except I used the escalator, its the perfect angle! ) Yup, been 2 and a half weeks for me. Definitely itching to get my knees in the breeze. Especially cuz we're running out of summer!! But I just booked a car so I'll be heading to the dz on Friday! Woo-hoo!! "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Jigs, Many people have their sites/blogs/jump journals linked from their profile. When I was starting out I read some great journals from people here. Now I link mine in case there are people (like you ) that might want to know how my AFP went. I agree with others that having posts makes it more interactive and useful than just a static note. There is a ton of info to find, just play around with the search. There are a million posts on "how many levels did you fail" or "how many levels to pass AFF" or "having trouble with X". In all those posts many people reply with their experiences. It's very easy to spend an entire day just reading old posts!

Congrats! It feels great, don't it? "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Hey Dude, Your instructors are right, you just need to relax. Students always over-analyze everything in their jumps (I did the same thing). Your turn probably is caused by you dropping your knee. But you will become a lot more stable when you relax. And I mean really RELAX. I thought I was relaxed, but I was still tense (as evidenced by my clenched fists). When I did finally relax for real, I improved 100%. Of course you're going to be nervous, you're jumping out of a plane! It does get better. It really helps to do it more frequently, too. My best time as a student was when I came and did 5 jumps in one day. For me, there was nothing anyone could say to make me not nervous. It just got better with time and more jumps. I still get nervous sometimes, but no longer have that paralyzing fear. Thats great that you feel its all worth it once you get out the door. It was the same for me, thats what kept me coming back. On the ride to altitude try taking some big, deep breaths. Go over the dive plan in your head. Imagine it going perfectly. Picture yourself out there in freefall loving it. Oh, it also helps to relax if you smile. Seriously. Take a deep breath, exhale, and then plant a huge smile across your face. Thats how I relax up there. Good luck with your training. Try not to over-analyze and stress about it too much. RELAX and enjoy!!

Congrats jigs!! I'm so happy you finally had some FUN!!! I'm sure you will find the handle soon. But try not to freak out when you don't find it right away. That will just make you more tense/unstable. You were not about to die, you have a lot of time when you're at 5500 ft! Maybe you could practice touching your hackey more on the ground? I'm assuming you do this, but maybe you could do it more when you're on your belly. Like, lay down in your arch with a rig on and then just keep reaching back to find it. One thing I've heard that might help is to touch your strap and follow it back. Or touch your butt and then go up. Anyway, great that you did better under canopy, too! Try not to freak out, YOU CAN DO IT!! In my training, I was feeling dependent on the radio, so I told them to not use it unless I was about to crash. I found I did much better when I had to depend on myself. I knew where to go and how to fly, I just had to prove it to myself. On your landings, good that it wasn't too hard. But don't worry about standing them up. It took me till jump 15 or 16 to stand one up. As long as you PLF or slide, you'll just get a little dirty. Again, congrats on that great jump! I'm sure once you start relaxing more you'll be passing those levels in no time!

I waited 8 years to get married. One of the big reasons was because I wanted to be finished with college and into a career before I was married. (Since my parents helped me with college, I didn't want to be married and still being supported by Dad.) Just my personal choice. And my hubby had no problems waiting.

I think we're somewhere between agreement and disagreement.

Thats true. By having your degree you are giving yourself something, so thats good. (and better than a lot of women do.) But depending on your field, if you take off 10 years to be with your kids you may have a really hard time getting back in. (If you ever needed/wanted to.) But I agree that you are probably not "screwed for life". "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Good one, Wendy!

Ok, because eventually the kids grow up and move on to their own lives. So if thats all you ever did, all you have, then you're left with nothing. Like someone else mentioned, you lose your own identity and just become "X's mom". So when X is no longer in the picture, what do you do now? Not to mention the whole financial aspect of being able to support yourself as a productive citizen in society. I think your own personal identity and your livlihood is NOT something that can be sacrificed. You can still enjoy parenthood, but that shouldn't be the only thing in your life. (IMO.

You can still have one without the other. Why would you have to have kids and still make a living? Raising a family is good enough,people don't need to have all the fancy cars and toys to be happy. Because, as many people pointed out before, you have nothing to fall back on if your happy little family doesn't work out. Its not about being rich. Its about being able to support yourself no matter what. I couldn't imagine going through life without that. Shit happens. Its better to be prepared for it. Its about having options. It has nothing to do with being rich or having toys. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

sorry but I disagree with you; being a mother/father IS an accomplishment. Or I should say raising children is an accomplishment. Not just being a parent, but being a mom/dad. I know it's hard work; and what do you think is wrong with a woman wanting to be the best mother/wife? Why does she have to other goals? I'm not saying those are my only 2 goals, but they are some of my goals. Ok, yes, it takes work to raise kids properly. But there are many people who manage to do a pretty good job and still earn a living. You can want to be the best wife/mother, but that doesn't have to be at the expense of your future. I guess I just don't get how that could be a goal. I mean, I want to be "good wife" , too. In the sense that I will support and nurture my husband, as he should for me. But thats not a goal! Thats just something you do. I dunno. I just don't get it. I think you are selling yourself short if all you strive to be is a wife & mother. And why is it okay for women to have that as a goal but not men? Thats just stupid. (Just my opinion.

I'll "third" this! I was very happy to get married in my early 20's, and we had no intention of having kids (still don't). Marriage is not just for having kids. Just like a "family" doesn't have to include kids. Me, my husband and our dogs are a family.

Right on! I second all of this. I have one friend who married her HS sweetheart, had 3 babies, and was loving it. Then her husband got cancer. Now she is going to nursing school so that she can support her family when her husband gets too sick to. It would've been much better if she had gone to school first, before the kids. I have another friend that started college, but never finished. She has absolutely no skills, she has only worked in coffee bars her whole life. She has 2 kids. If something were to happen to her husband, she'd be totally screwed. That scares me. I worry for her. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

that's great you want more, but why is it a lot of women don't think they've "made something of themselves" unless they are MORE than a mother?? ( not trying to argue, just a question)

Congrats and good luck with that last jump!!

Thanks, guys! I think I definitely need to play with my flare more to find the right technique. Hopefully I will be standing them up soon!

Jigs, Hang in there!

Thanks for the info. Ya, I always have bruises on my upper arms (right near the shoulder) and on my thighs. All my openings are VERY fast, and some spank me pretty good. My neck is usually sore. Tried a bunch of different packing techniques and packers, no change. Decided to go with the bigger slider. Hopefully it helps! Ya, I do miss the flare of the Sabre2! But I intend on keeping this canopy awhile so hopefully I'll figure this one out eventually. Did you find that your best flare on the PD is the same height as you start on the Sabre2, or a little lower? I know I usually held the "1" on the Sabre2, so I may be starting this one too early. Thanks!

Well hopefully the slider helps. Thats good it doesn't happen to you. When I read the reviews of the PD I didn't see anything about it opening hard. Ya, maybe its the way I'm flaring. I used to do a 1-2-3, and I got incredible lift with the 1. I'd hold that for a sec and then set myself down nice and soft with the 2-3. On this one, I was told to just punch it all the way down, so thats what I do. But I don't feel the lift like I used to, and I also seem to have more forward speed. I haven't stood any up under this one, I always slide it in. One problem is nobody at my dz (that I know of) has F-111, so I can't watch them or get tips from them on how to do it. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

I havent jumped a lot of zp canopies, because I like my f111 , but I have found a huge difference in them against the wind. The other thing I find is if I jump in winds over 20mph I land going backwards so now I ground myself in anything over 18mph I jumped a Sabre2 190 all thru student training, so thats why I bought a 190. I never noticed a problem getting penetration into the wind with the Sabre2 like I do with mine. I also got a much better flare on that one. (Which I knew would happen switching to F-111) One other thing I didn't know -- my PD-190 has given me slammer openings every time. I just had a bigger slider made, but haven't tried it yet. I'm just wondering if those of you who have the F-111 PD canopies have slammers as well? (BTW, mine is nearly new with only 70-ish jumps on it) I want to love my canopy, but its hard with the slammer openings, no penetration, and poor flare power. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site