NWFlyer

I'm sure Bill would put you on the camera wheel even sooner than your home DZ if you want. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Dunno where that is. In Longmont we hit 100% snow pack by sometime in December I think. Hopefully whenever it all decides to melt, it doesn't cause epic flooding again. I've had more than enough of that for one century. He was responding to my comment about California's drought... ALL the way west. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I hear Phil saw his shadow. If it means six more weeks of "winter" like we have today, I'll actually celebrate it. California has had unseasonably warm and dry weather last fall and so far this winter, which (while nice for skydiving) has caused a pretty dire drought condition (not to mention setting my allergies haywire!). But, this morning, we've got a nice light rain, forecast to go through the day. If Phil's right, more moisture could be really good for us. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

"Just do it" really is the only way to keep facing the fear directly and get to the point where you're past it or at least it's manageable. As others mentioned upthread, jumping as frequently as possible can help a lot. I found when I was a newer jumper, more than a week or two between jumps would have me second-guessing all the way to the dropzone "what the hell am I thinking? why on earth would I ever do this?" There were several times where the whole ride to altitude I'd tell myself "I can always ride the plane back down." Know what? I never did ride the plane back down (in fact, I'd hit almost 1000 jumps before I rode the plane down for any reason, and that was because weather rolled in really quickly). That said, brute force isn't the only technique you can use. You can throw some wind tunnel time into your learning to give you more confidence in your own ability to fly (doesn't help at all with the door monster, though!). You can visualize. That's a technique I've used from the very beginning. As a student, visualization was critical to cementing the dive flow in my mind, and helping to make sure that I wouldn't brain lock on the next requirement. Visualize yourself successfully executing the whole thing, end to end, from getting into the door, to the exit count, to exiting, to all the freefall moves, through to deployment and the full canopy ride to landing. To this day I visualize pretty much every skydive - that kind of practice is free, builds confidence, and can really make a difference in whether I am able to successfully execute my part of a skydive. Sounds like you live pretty far away from your DZ, but I also find that just spending more time around the DZ can help, even if you're not jumping. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Sorry you had a frustrating experience. This has been suggested before, and on the surface it seems like a good idea. But in practice, there's only a handful of sellers that sell more than one or two items every few years. It'd be really tough to get a true picture of the seller's reputation through a rating system. For me, if I don't know the person and the dollar amount is meaningful, I always look for a personal connection. This sport's small enough that I've never had trouble finding one - especially when I can usually just search the person's name on Facebook and find a mutual friend or 10. I've had others check out people I know that way, too. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

First, last, and only time I've gotten sick in a car I was stone cold sober, and it was my own car; I was sitting in the passenger seat and my b.f. was driving. We'd gone on a whitewater rafting trip with a bunch of skydivers, and I started feeling a little wonky on the van ride back to the starting point. I changed clothes, rested, got some fresh air, drank some more water, and thought I was ready for the three+ hour ride home. We stopped a few minutes out to pick up some sodas, and got back on the road. Unfortunately, my stomach decided to turn itself inside out on a stretch of road with nowhere to pull off, so I was only able to crack open the door in a moving car before everything came back out all over me, the inside of the door, and the door frame. Reason #2353 why he's a keeper ... he helped get the car and me cleaned up enough to go home (fortunately I had a random fugly t-shirt in the trunk that a friend had given me as kind of a gag gift - never thought I'd wear it but at that point I didn't care - it was clean!) and drove the rest of the way home. Nearest I can figure is that I took in some nasty river water in the rapids; we all ate the same lunch (provided by the rafting company) and since no one else got sick, I doubt very much it was food poisoning. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I have an Osprey Shuttle wheeled bag. I got it a few years ago after going through Costco-cheap wheeled bags every year or so (zippers would break, wheels weren't that great, etc.). This thing is pretty bomb-proof. I keep flatter stuff in the big side zip pocket (logbook, roll of gaffers tape, folders with my team stuff, random other shit). There's a small zip pocket on the main flap that I use for small things like a bottle of Aleve, nail clippers, extra hair ties, keys to the RV, etc. The main pocket holds my rig, helmet bag, extra jump clothes, and jumpsuits quite comfortably. All of my jump accessories (gloves, altimeter, beanie) I store inside the helmet (they're wrapped up in my Under Armour beanie so they don't scratch the lens). Other jump accessories (extra altimeter, pull up cords, rubber bands, extra gloves, closing loops, extra audible batteries, small crescent wrench) go in the big pocket in my helmet bag. When I travel, the rig comes out and goes into its own backpack to be carried on the plane. The space gets filled with clothes and other stuff for the trip. The bag is big enough that I always have to be thoughtful not to go over the 50 lb weight limit if I'm packing for a long trip, but usually I find myself with plenty of room and several pounds to spare. My M.O. (and I do this for non-skydiving travel) is to always do things the same way. So store things in the same place, put them back when you take them out, etc. If I transfer stuff into a small duffel bag for the tunnel, I only take what I need at the tunnel (jumpsuit, gloves, and helmet with altimeters left at home), and I try to move it all back into its home in my regular gear bag when I get back home. I also keep everything in the gear bag when I'm at home. It keeps it all contained and organized, but it also keeps my cats (who find all kinds of things interesting to scratch at) from damaging my gear. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I set them both to the same altitudes. They're the same model, but they're rarely perfectly in sync, which I'll notice on the ride up when they chime at 1000 feet, usually a little offset from each other. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Spoiler alert: "The State of the Union is strong/good." Unless he surprises us and pulls a Ford. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

That's quite a shadow in the pic. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I tried that already. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Dohhh!!! And right when I tried to fix it, my IPhone died... For good. It's because you were celebrating the life of an Un-American commie like Pete Seeger. You hate America, your iPhone dies. Or something like that. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

If I ran a DZ in the U.S., I would only consider a 16 or 17 year old who was the child of a long time, regular skydiver (or of someone else who'd been intimately involved in the dropzone operations). It would have to be someone who grew up around the sport, with a parent or parents who knew the sport and the level of personal responsibility and accountability required. The statements by the parents of the 16 year old in Oklahoma make it crystal clear that anyone else is a crapshoot in terms of whether they're likely to try to sue for a bad outcome. And of course, it's also a wildcard whether she'll do anything independent of her parents once she turns 18. Regardless of whether the lawsuit is baseless or not, the DZ will have to spend a lot of time and energy trying to make it go away. Not worth it to let a handful of teenagers jump. (Unfortunately, in the U.S., at least, the decisions have to be made based on liability, not on readiness, right or wrong...). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

You've been given two options in northern California - why not call the DZs and talk about their student programs and see if either sounds like the right fit for you. I'd recommend Skydance, but that's because I know about its student program first hand and can vouch for the quality of it. Or, California's a big place - you also have several options in Southern California that have student programs (Perris, Elsinore, Skydive San Diego), some of which are open seven days a week. Weather in the southern part of the state tends to be more consistently dry/warm. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Already being discussed in incidents. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Where's the option for "what I choose to do with my pubes isn't dictated by a Today show trend report"? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Seeger. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Says the cat lover with the yellow/orange and orange/white/blue parachutes. I won't argue with you on cats. They are total buttheads (but I do love 'em anyway). But neon parachutes are most awesome for their visibility! I love colors that pop out of the sky, not ones that disappear (especially in late day winter light... ugh!). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I enjoyed it. Then again, I don't live in Jersey. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Agreed. Even when I was putting in crazy long rides (up to 14 hrs in the saddle in one day), I never seemed to lose any weight. It was only when I started working on restricting my diet that I dropped the weight. But the weird thing is if I miss my regular every-second-day 2.5hr ride, I can easily start gaining weight. Yeap .. weight gain/loss is still a complete mystery to me too.. and clearly to the 'industry' too - agents of which often contradict each other to try and sell their latest 'magic-oh-this-one-will-really-work-this-time' wares Personally, I'm going down the simplified food (made from primary ingredients and not packets route) and running my arse off (literally).. my cycle stays in the shed 'till spring. Fair point that food choices have a greater influence on weight than does exercise. But exercise brings with it a whole host of other benefits, and I just find the whole "don't exercise unless you already look great in your exercise clothes" mantra to be remarkably judgmental. Fuck that - what's it to you or anyone else how someone looks while they're exercising (or sitting in front of a cafe)? People should wear what's comfortable and safe for the exercise in question regardless of their weight. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I'll give them some slack; At least they are making an effort to solve the problem. And technically, I was one once. Can't have it both ways. Can't be all "OMG lazy fatties need to get off their ass and exercise" while simultaneously requiring them to not actually be visible exercising while fat. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Plenty of different helmets will fit the bill and take an audible. A few brands to check out are Cookie Composites - the G3 helmet is very popular. Bonehead Composites has the Mamba and the Rev2 SkySystems has several models as well The Square 1 Phantom X is also pretty popular. There's others but that's what came to mind off the top of my head. http://www.dropzone.com/gear/Helmets__Head_Gear_and_Goggles/index.shtml Check out the reviews here for more info as well. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

A full-face helmet should make a big difference with the "tunnel snot" problem (I know it helps me greatly). There are many different ones on the market - your best bet would be to try several to see which feels most comfortable on your head / face. One caveat would be that in general, instructors don't tend to like to have students in full face helmets and the DZ will most likely ask you to use their helmets for your student jumps. I suspect that you will find less of a snot problem with the relatively short duration of freefall on a skydive, vs. the concentrated time you're spending in the tunnel. However, once you are through with your student jumps, the full face that you're using in the tunnel could then be used on skydives as well. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/10328228/super-bowl-renee-fleming-opera-star-sing-super-bowl-xlviii-national-anthem Sounds like they might make an exception at the Super Bowl since she's got some chops. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I'm with you on that, though I'd amend it to say "cosmetic surgery." I can understand the appeal of reconstructive plastic surgery (and fake breasts in that case). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke