Rhonda66

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Everything posted by Rhonda66

  1. Did anyone else even see Feardotcom - HORRIBLE! Yes, Punch Drunk Love was totally stupid too... Rhonda PP ASEL
  2. Yeah, I found them online - they seemed pretty good - isn't there anything like that in the US?! The website says you can apply for a position with them - keep trying... Rhonda PP ASEL
  3. We don't want to actually walk out all over the wings - just get strapped into the harness and go for the ride - would that be considered "wing-riding?" You'd think there would be someplace in the US where you could do this...I've only found places in the UK and South Africa so far... Rhonda PP ASEL
  4. Anyone been wing-walking or know where you can do it? My husband and I saw it on some reality TV show awhile back (Road Rules maybe) and it looked like a lot of fun. We'd like to try it during our vacation in February if there's anywhere in the US to do it... Thanks! Rhonda PP ASEL
  5. I did my level 3 from a 182. At the time, being a newbie, I didn't really think about it. I have video and it's crazy though - 4 people out on the wing of a 182 - me, 2 JM's and the videographer - pretty nuts now that I think about it! Rhonda PP ASEL
  6. CASA all the way - or helicopters... Rhonda PP ASEL
  7. I didn't like jumping the 182 - until I learned to fly in a 152! A 182 is huge compared to that! Once before I got my pilot license, the door of the 152 flew open in flight and my CFI freaked out - it was pretty funny! He made me land and stop on the runway so he could shut the door - clearly a "WHUFFO"! Rhonda PP ASEL
  8. Hey there - you're right, we seem pretty similar AND my "honey" (well, hubby) also jumps a 120 (Sabre though) regularly and also has a 107 that he jumps on occasion. He is a much better canopy pilot than I am though and the 120 was his first canopy. He bought me a Sabre 150 that we will probably sell now because we're not jumping regularly enough these days for me to even consider downsizing anytime soon. The first thing we did when we got licensed was to go to Eloy . I'm probably not exactly at the same point in my skydiving career as you are because I only have 200+ jumps in about 5 years of jumping, which is why I'll be sticking with my 170. Have fun in Eloy! Rhonda PP ASEL
  9. I'm 135 pounds, 200+ jumps, jumping a Sabre 170 canopy that I intend to stay with for a long time coming. Rhonda PP ASEL
  10. I think it was probably the first jump I got to make with my husband. It seemed like the goal of AFF for me was to get to make a jump with him eventually. Next would have to be the night jump in Eloy for my 101st jump. Balloon and helicopter jumps follow close behind... Rhonda PP ASEL
  11. My husband and I went through AFF at Pepperell. I liked it for training and thought they were first rate, but we mostly jump at Jumptown now. We thought that the atmosphere was more liberal and friendly at Jumptown. As a pilot, I also like being able to fly right in to Jumptown from Bedford, which I can't do at Pepperell. Pepperell is also very tandem-focused. They're both really excellent, safe drop zones though. Rhonda PP ASEL
  12. I jumped from Burner's balloon at Skydive Arizona right after I got my "A" license in 1998. I got the license right in time for the trip. Most of the jumpers landed off, but having only just over 20 jumps, I pulled high and made it back to the main landing area What a blast! We've gone back every year since and always make at least 1 balloon jump. I've never made a base jump, but I can only assume it's something like that - it's weird - initially you feel and hear the air speeding up around you and you pretty much have to wave your arms around to get stable, like you're trying to grab onto air that isn't there. One time we had jumpers pulling at the altitude we were at during our climb to altitude in the balloon. A guy executed a cutaway right in front of the balloon - it was pretty cool (not that the person had to cutaway, but to see it from that point of view). Rhonda PP ASEL
  13. All I can say is that I think almost all of us have been in your shoes. I was scared to death during AFF and after each jump I'd tell myself I'd never put myself through that hell ever again. Then, 2 days later I'd be looking up at a bright blue sky wishing I was falling through it! Skydiving chose me I think - I definitely didn't want to do it, but I freakin' HAD to! Now I'm a skydiver and a pilot and I feel like if anything was to happen, man, have I lived - no complaints! Good luck! Rhonda PP ASEL
  14. Don't feel so bad - One of my JM's gave me the old "skydiving isn't for everyone" speech. I kept dearching and going feet first so I had to do L1 3 times. To my credit, I did pull on my own on every jump, never lost altitude awareness, and never landed off the DZ. My primary JM kept telling me to stay with it and I got a new reserve JM - the new arrangement worked out well and I got through AFF. Of course, now I can't stand up again for the life of me - figures... Rhonda PP ASEL
  15. The first time I saw that video of Lutz on TV, he also claimed no one told him what to do if there was no parachute over his head! Duh, I'm sure someone mentioned TOTAL MALFUNCTION sometime during the 8 hours of AFF training! The guy definitely gets my vote for the biggest idiot and biggest jerk awards. Rhonda PP ASEL
  16. My husband and I want to go to the boogie next weekend, but both of our reserves are out of date - our regular packer doesn't seem to be around this week, perhaps due to the Jumptown 100 way attempt - anyone know if there's anyone over there at Pepperell who can do a couple of reserve repacks sometime before the boogie next weekend? Thanks! Rhonda PP ASEL
  17. Me: 29 now: 23 then My husband: 31 now: 24 then Rhonda PP ASEL
  18. I jumped from a Bell Jet Ranger hovering at 4k. Doors were removed and there was padding on the skids. The pilot told us it was important for all 4 jumpers to leave the heli at the same time for weight and balance. It cost $75 for the jump. That's all the specifics I can remember - have fun! Rhonda PP ASEL
  19. Lowest I've gone is 3.5K. I got used to doing hop n pops early on in my training since in New England a lot of the time you're not going to get up to 13.5 When my husband and I went to Eloy for a week back in March, we got tired of riding the plane up to 14K on every jump so we asked to get out at 4k together for the whole day one day. A couple of people commented that it was "scary" that we got out at 4K together because "that's break-off altitude!" - We got a kick out of that. Rhonda PP ASEL
  20. You know, that's not a bad idea - I didn't even think of that, but... the first thing I did when I got the PPL was to fly my husband and I over to Jumptown in a 152 to make a jump - couldn't wait to do that. Then I brought him out to the local "practice area" and let him have the controls. Next will probably be a weekend trip to Martha's Vineyard. I'll have to get checked out in something bigger soon - going to the FFFF in a 152 could take weeks just to get there! Flying rocks - I wish I learned a long time ago... Rhonda PP ASEL
  21. I got my private in May. There were a lot of factors involved in just doing that and I'm assuming you're starting at the beginning now with the goal of getting your commercial one day. Some factors include how old you are, what stage you're currently at in your life, MONEY is a big factor for a lot of people, whether or not you have a college education, if military training is a possible route for you or if you want to learn from a local school or join a club, what kind of plane you want to learn in, whether you want to learn at a busy or more quiet airport, and on and on and on - there's lots of factors and decisions to make. The basic things you need to get the PPL are to be 17 years old (16 to solo), you have to be able to get at least a third class medical certificate when you get your student pilot certificate, which you have to do prior to soloing - though you would want to make sure you can pass the Class I medical if you want to fly commercial. Your CFI can fill you in on the rest of the requirement, but these are the basics. If you want to fly airliners it is highly recommended you get a 4-year degree in any subject, but you can combine college and school by attending an aviation college and kill two birds with one stone that way. I already had my 4-year degree so that wasn't an option for me (though I'm not planning on flying for a living anyway so that's not really an issue anyway). The first thing you do if you're going to learn at a local flight school is to sign up for a discovery (disco) flight. They usually cost about $50 and you can get a good idea of what the school is all about when you actually fly with them. If you decide to sign up, they usually want you to fly at least twice a week in order to get the most out of your lessons. I find that for most people it seems to hold true that staying with one CFI throughout your training is optimum and with the current economy holding most of them back from the airlines right now, it's not too difficult to do that. As for me, took me a year and nearly 100 hours just to get my PPL. I went through the Cessna "Cleared for Takeoff" course that's put out by John and Martha King at my local school, Executive Flyers in Bedford, MA. It was Class D and fairly busy, which I liked because I don't have any qualms about flying pretty much anywhere after training at a busy airport. As far as web sites go, http://www.beapilot.com is pretty good as is http://www.aopa.org and it's not a bad idea to join aopa if you decide to pursue the license. I also post a lot at http://www.studentpilot.com and that site was immensely helpful in getting me through the training - highly recommended. Diverdriver is also a huge help in answering anything airplane-related Good luck! Wish I could go back in time cuz I would have learned to fly a long time ago if I knew how much I was going to love it. Rhonda PP ASEL
  22. Can someone please tell me what the benefit is of having a D license anyway? My husband and I both have over 200 jumps and he's close to 500 - we both have all the requirements except a night RW, but have both made a couple of night jumps for fun. We've just never seen any good reason to go any further than the B license. I think it's a joke anyway - there's people out there with like 20,000 jumps and yet we're all going to have D licenses - why bother? Rhonda PP ASEL
  23. You should have added a "not applicable/we both jump" option to the poll. My husband and I always jump together, but we both pretty much have an "I'll try anything once" attitude. Rhonda PP ASEL
  24. What a sad weekend it has been. My condolences to everyone at Pepperell Rhonda PP ASEL