AdrenalineBluez

I applaud your dedication and support for your wife... With that being said I can share what I have learned having a non-skydiving spouse. My participation in skydiving initially made her a basket case. I attempted everything under the sun to ease her mind yet make sure she was aware of the risk involved. All of it pretty much to no avail. In the end it really was not anything I said or did that started to make a difference. What did help the most is just what many have reccomended already. I took her to the DZ and I took her often. In the course of making some new friends she began to explore the sport on her own. She still to this day has no desire to jump. However, she does know a good deal about the sport for someone who doesn't jump.That knowledge was the best solution to her anxiety. While she still recognizes that skydiving has an inherant amount of risk she has become familiar with the various pieces of equipment and procedures that skydivers use and perform to mitigate as much risk as possible. So in this humble and low timers opinion... You will do yourself the most good by going to the DZ with your wife. I can promise you at the very least you will meet some new and interesting people. You will come to find out skydivers are a very tight family and for the most part do our very best to look out for each other. You will learn a good deal about how the gear works and why it works by simply observing and listening in to the chat. You can learn even more by asking a few questions. Who knows you might even have some fun while doing it "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

To answer you question about how long it took to over come the fear after my first chop. I had a cutaway on the sunset load and was on the second load of night jumps a couple hours later.. However, after my first chop I always had something nagging me about my gear... I hadn't been packing my gear and as a matter of fact I hadn't packed my mal. So I was always wondering what was in the bag... If you aren't packing for yourself. Learn!!! It solved my gear fear problem and has made jumping a whole lot more fun... With that being said, getting with your rigger as mentioned above is the best advice there is for learning you gear... As with anything else "knowledge" is power... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

There are some people that roll through AFF without repeating any of the jumps. Those people are the exception to the rule. Quite a few people end up repeating at least one jump. For me, I repeated two jumps... With that being people don't "fail" AFF levels. A student has X number of tasks (TLO's) to complete at any level of AFF. The instructor has the very tough job of training his student to successfully complete these tasks as well as maintain body position/atlitude awareness etc etc. With some students it sticks with others it doesnt. If you don't complete the learning objectives, your body position is out of whack, you lose alti awareness etc etc you repeat the level. It isn't failure but rather the instructors call. You are not failing but rather being given another chance to work on skills that in the end are the things that make you safe and keep you alive. He/She is ultimately responsible for turning out a student that is equipped with the skills to be a safe individual while on self supervised student status and beyond. Don't be so hard on yourself. You didn't get the "Take up Golf" speech. So you instructors probably see you as a good skydiver in the future. Relax a lot of people have some difficulty in AFF. Have fun while you are at it After all that is why you jump isn't it? As a side note: You can see by my #'s I am not a guru on the sport. However, I have been there done that with problematic AFF jumps. Trust me it gets better... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

Try to get anything I can over their head until 2k. However, at my skill level this is unlikely... I have seen enough AFF video of flailing students to know that it takes a skill I don't currently possess to pull off a manuever like that... "I have no friends below 2k" It sounds cruel but facts are facts and a hard deck is a hard deck... So to answer the question. I hope they have an AAD... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

I don't bring up jumping to my non-jumping friends. I will provide information is queried but thats about it. A handful of people in the last two years have made the "I have always wanted to try that" comment. At that point I will offer up the DZ# and offer to go with them. It is up to them to "make the leap". So far our sitter is the only one out of about 50 that has gone and done a tandem. So no, I don't encourage or discourage it until they have committed to doing it themselves. "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

Great helmet!!! The visor is the only draw back to me... I change mine pretty often because they scratch up and get cloudy so easily. It seems the square holes in the lens that the ratchet fittings go in to are most often the culprit to making a the change a pain in the a**. So have an exacto knife handy to fine trim the holes... The best method I have found is to put one side on with the visor in the closed position. Get it snugged down some then start working your way around to the other side taping it in place at the bottom edge. Use the plastic the replacement came in or saran wrap to keep from getting tape residue on the lens. If you make sure to get the pseudo seal snug all the way to the other side you should be able to just screw it down. Takes me about 5 minutes to do. As a side note I order them in lots of 3 or 4 incase I have a mishap or so they are on hand to avoid shipping wait times. Good luck... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

Vans are just what I always seem to have on my feet... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

As of last Saturday I had not jumped in 8 months and 12 days. For some reason I hit the wall with fear. At almost 160 jumps it finally shut me down and I turned my back on the sport for lack of knowing how to over come it. It was a tough battle getting back. However, I am back. I made a couple of jumps on Saturday and I heave never felt as good in my life as I do right now!!!! Nothing really mind blowing here information wise. I just wanted to say thanks. To the staff at Skydive San Diego. In particular Patrick. Without him I can seriously say I would not have made it back. To my Bro Butch... Man you are the best!!! Thanks for sticking it out even when things looked pretty grim for me making a return.. To Eric thanks for the support man. Hopefully the world has stopped spinning today... To my wife who sucked it up when I shut the world off because I was broken... I LOVE YOU!!! To Brian Germain who's book and words of wisdom provided the final key to unlocking the door... Relax... Focus... Flow... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

I had just purchased a full face helmet (Oxygn A3). At the time I had about 5 or 6 jumps on it. I was only 20 or so jumps in to the sport as well. I was so excited come time to exit I forgot to put the face shield down. As luck would have it it didn't rip off on exit. Since I wasn't licensed I was solo, and had time to deal with it. It had to have been comical if anyone saw me flip flopping all over the sky. I would get it closed and it would pop back open. I was upside down, or on my back, or any other position I could think of to get it to seat. It finally did... The rest of the skydive was uneventful... P.S. You would think I would have learned my lesson. But I have since done it again. Still have not lost a visor tho.. Props to the guys that build em... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

Or the old military version I picked up with 7 P's Proper Planning Prevents Painfully Piss Poor Performance "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

The customer service is SLOW to say the least. I ordered one and it took over 11 weeks. Which I understand is fast. Mine was a little large, which was ok because I got a little larger. However, out of the three I have seen ordered mine was closest in fit. One the other hand after some effort both of the other two were replaced and fit fine the second time around. For some reason they like to ship them either way too small or way too large. I know for mine I was measured three times and one of them was by a rigger that is used to ordering suits. So..... On the other hand I have 150+ jumps on mine and not a single sign of wear... Mine held up very well. Not the case for one of the two others it fell apart in a hurry... Again it was replaced and has held up over another 100 jumps just fine. You can cancel your order. Though it is tuff to do when you can't contact them. Contacting them is hit and miss at best. Or you can wait it out.. You might end up with a suit that works and holds up. I look at it this way. It was inexpensive and has done ok by me. Would I do it again? No... Am I ok with the product I got? Yes... All in all they arent bad suits when they are done well... The problem is they can show up junk or ok.. You just never know... Good luck... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

I served a decade and a half in the Navy. After more knee surgeries than I care to count the Navy finally got tired of putting Humpty Dumpty back together again and put me out. At first I was terrified. I didn't know anything else!!! What the hell am I gonna do??? It was panic. I had other skills and I knew it but the apprehension was there. Then I got the pipe dream. I can go make ass loads of money!!! Yeah I am a computer wizard the civillian sector is going to be the place to be... WRONG!!!! Errrrrrrr Ok RIGHT!!!! Things to be aware of. 1. My salary now is about 20K more a year than your E-6 with 14 makes. The checks are about 100 dollars and some change less than my E-6 checks. The taxes you DONT pay on your BAH make a huge difference. So know that you need to see a lot more cash in the civilliam sector to take home what you do now in the military. 2. Medical insurance. You can pretty much rip a limb off in the military and they will put you back together and send you on your way. Civillian coverage it aint that way from most employers. Co-pays, or only getting full coverage until you have covered "x" amount out of your pocket. 3. You now have to buy your own work clothes. Sure our uniform allowance wasnt much. However, uniforms made going to work easy. You didnt have to think about what to wear. I loved that... Cripes I am so fashion challenged I have to let my wife dress me... There are a lot of other little factors to consider. All or none of which may be important to you. You said you enjoyed the security. That is a big thing. However, with a good education and job experience you can virtually rest assured that as long as you apply yourself in the civillian sector there is security to be had.

Fresh out of AFF and not quite to my "A" License I went up for a solo. On the same load is a close friend I started AFF with. He was in the habit of opening a little lower than I did at that point so he usually exited first. Well today I wanted him to tell me how my exit looked so I would go first. The dive was uneventful. However, when I dumped at the planned 5k (which we both agree'd to) and looked up to watch my main open. "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm wazzat body in free fall doing RIGHT THERE???" I actually heard and felt the sound as my buddy whizzed by me and my still snivleing canopy close enough I could have kicked him... The bigger realization was that I either slid under him or he slid over me in free fall. Because at opening he actually ended up back up jump run further than me. Just goes to show at that level you have no idea how much you are really moving around in the sky. I wont touch on the alti awareness thing either. Embarrassing story to tell to say the least. Scary as hell ta boot... Deffinately lucky to be alive.... And one of the driving forces behind me being such a huge seperation nazi... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

I voted no... Aside from the obvious saftey issues I am not going to hose a pilot or his ratings so I can cloud bust... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

It is a scene from the movie Endless Summer II. They are flying in to some surf spot in Costa Rica or something like that. Not sure weather or not Bruce Brown grabbed it from somewhere else and put it in there for humor or it really happened during filming though... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

The sport contains risk and a higher risk than most any other sport. Skydivers as a whole do eveything in thier power to mitigate that risk. In my time in the sport I have run across more safety concious people than at any other point in my life. We may toss ourselves out of a perfectly good airplane but by god we are gonna survive it!!!! Every thing you "add" to a skydive increases the amount of risk. It doesn't matter if its a camera, or simply making the transition from belly to earth to free flying. No matter what you think ANYTHING you add to a skydive no matter how well prepared you think you are increases that risk. Camera flying has a stigmatism to it. It attracts veteran and new jumpers alike. The difference is the veteran jumper will or does know the inherant risks involved with "adding" something to the skydive. They have that been there done that thing going for them. Ok well most... Every DZ has its Kamikaze order... or the DGIT. The time in sport and jump numbers that make you a "veteran" are a myth to me. Is it 200 jumps? 2000? I don't know. What I do know is the jump # signifies spending time in a sport that could very well end your life. So the SIM recommendations serve a point. So does the words of many a poster here who have lived and done. Do I condone the bashing of newbies like myself? Nope! Do I sense some general down talking on here from people? Yes! It is information take it and what I say for what is is worth... Information... So before putting a camera on your head you have to ask yourself about where you are in the sport. Are you at a point that your experience has taught you how to deal with everyting taking this "risk" can throw your way? Can you in your head justify to yourself that your actions could not only FURTHER endanger yourself and others? Lastly, and this is something I have been trying to get my 16 year old to ask himself for a very long time. "What is the worst possible thing that can happen to me if I do this?" If you can answer those and all the other "risk" associated questions honestly and are ok with your answers then its time. Time for you to seek out every knowledgeable camera person you can find. Ask them all the ins and outs. All the ups and downs. Walk a few miles in thier shoes. Have them "and PAY them" to take you on some evaluation jumps. No camera, just you and your air skills. To see if you can cut it in your slot. If you can make the comittment to that and get all the way through all of that. At that point if the powers that be say strap that puppy on... Then ask yourself... Do I really wanna fly camera cuz its a BITCH!!!! **Note** I started flying mine too early. At around 160 jumps I put one on my head. Luckily nothing bad happened. I did have the blessing of my DZO and camera fliers at the DZ. To whom I owe lotsa beers for thier knowledge an patience. However, I have since put the camera helmet back in its lil bag. There it will stay until I know a little more about just how much I dont know... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

I gave it a solid month just to make sure everything was healed and I had no complications. The Doc that did mine advised me that as soon as there was no tenderness and he emphasised NO tenderness things should be good to go... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

I spent some time considering just what to do. In retrospect I have to agree it should have been postponed. In my head I wanted to get back on the horse so to speak. At the time that was important to me. I put some thought in to it and upsized to a 209Sq Ft rental rig I had jumped in the past that was the same type container as I currently jump. The only mechanism that was different is both my emergency handles are pillows. Where the rig I used had a D-ring. "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

Nope... We went looking but ran out of light... Went back at dawn Sunday and recovered both the main and free bag... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

Me never see you no mas.. Where ya been??? Adding: Usually 15+ loads nowadays. Awesome weather ta boot. LIke Bill said mostly free fly, but you can scrounge up some RW too... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

This may or may not turn out to be a rambling tale... However, I think setting the scene carries some weight... Night jumps were scheduled at my DZ for last Saturday. Seeing as my S.O. knows Saturdays are my jump days I see the chance to really get some serious jumping in. hehehehe In any case the day was pretty eventful an 11 way tracking dive, not my first but the biggest I have been on to date. A 7 way RW jump. Not necessarily big by most standards but at my DZ I dont get the chance to RW with that many people that often. So I was amped to be able to go. In any case the day went well. The problems started when I rushed to make the sunset load... Yup gotta get greedy and get the extra alti they sometimes give on the sunset load. I don't pack for myself, so I landed ran in the packing loft and asked one of the packers if they could get me on the load. I feel a certain amount of guilt. They work hard enough and shouldn't get rushed like that. I kind of kid myself that a big tip at the end of the day alleviates the guilt when I run in and plead to get a quick pack. Maybe it does, and maybe it doesnt... Moot point in light of the events. Ok where was I??? Oh... Quick gear check and run for the plane... Uneventful skydive, actually my buddy didnt make the load so I went solo. I am the only belly flier on the load so I get the spot. Erffff I got out a little early. A little boo boo that would prove to be a benefactor a few moments later. I Just goofed off during the skydive (I still get a kick out of flips and barrel rolls for no reason other then they are just FUN). So I note that I am a little short of the DZ, clear my airspace and dump at 3.5k instead of 3k. The instant I tossed the pilot chute I Knew things were going in the crapper in a hurry. I fly a Safire2 189 loaded at 1.24 (Yes I know I am a fat ass and to stop increasing my wing loading by shoving food in my face ) but hey its cheaper than down sizing!!! I only have about 120 jumps on it I know the snatch force dont feel like it does right now. Ok put on your slow motion cam boys and girls... Hmmmmmm whats this??? RUH ROH... Why is my head pinned to my chest??? I figure aight massive line twists... Nice body position ya twit!!! insert annoyed grumble here. I get a peek up the best I can. Ummmmmmm do line twists make your canopy look like a big bow tie??? Lil man in my head says "no that my friend is a line over". The powers that be decide a little more mayhem might be in order. On my back and spinning I go. Fair enough.. Its time to say buh bye to the ball of sh*t above my head. Hands go to thier respective pillows. Peel and pull.. See ya main... I had heard tales that people beat thier RSL's. Even with the two handed EP's I didnt... I felt the lil jolt through the cable as the RSL extracted the reserve closing pin. It didn't beat me by much but I knew as I got the reserve handle out it had. Myth busted!!! Under a nice big reserve I popped my face shield PUT the cables from BOTH my handles tween my teeth and headed for the DZ to a nice landing and some cheers from my DZ family. I have NEVER felt so alive in my life!!! I know what you are asking yourself...(or not) What about the night jumps??? Well I did one of those too. Albeit on rental gear. But I got it done... In the end I had to force payment on the packer. They refused and protested but the bottom line is I am bigger then they are!!! hehehe You pay your five bucks, you jump the canopy. The malfuction packing induced or not doesnt negate someone put it in the bag for you. I bought beers, and enjoyed sitting around the fire with the people that have become my extended family. A big bunch of thanks to Andy for giving me a loaner rig on the house to make a night jump on... Another shout out to Chris for the save your bottle is on the way... To all my instructors who got me where I am in skydiving today.... THANKS!!!! Thanks to the packers at the DZ who put up with me always begging for a quick turn around, always get me on the load and smile while doing it!!! I editied to add lessons learned... I am such a bonehead!!! 1. Rushing is bad... 2. Rushing is bad... 3. Rushing is bad... 4. Dont mess with it. If it looks like a ball of sh*t it probably is. I was under a good canopy well above my hard deck. 5. I will continue to make a mock run through my EP's the last thing I do b4 I exit or climb out. I always have, and seeing as my hands went right to both of thier respective handles. No reason to mess with what works. But put it in your routine somewhere... 6. Know your spot. even though being short caused me to pull a little higher and thus provided me a little more time. An off landing in my neck of the woods would piss all over a nice parade... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

Navy for 14 years. AW/IT bounced around a couple of ratings went back to aircrew to stay in the SAR community... Uncle Sam got tired of fixing my knees gave me a chunk of change and sent me on my way.... Been out over a year and I still miss it.... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

I was in virtually the same situation. I had an infinity built for a Safire2 189 and at the time had a Safire2 209 demo to put in it. It was a pretty new demo so getting it in the bag was a pain. (I eventually wussed out and turned it over to the DZ packers) It was a tight fit but it went in there. The closing pin felt pretty tight too and caused me some concern at first. However, senior folks and the rigger instilled some confidence. On the upside when I did get the 189 it was a breeze to get in the bag compared to stuffing the 209 in there... Go jump it until you are ready to downsize... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

It is not a regular thing... Once every couple months. I avoid it because it shows me exactly how pathetic my condition is... Two hours in there and sh*t hurts that you didnt know you had the next day... We will probably take the house apes a week from this friday. I will let ya know and you can meet us there... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"

Butch and I hit Solid Rock in Poway on random fridays... Shoot a PM and go with us.... "Uh oh! This is gonna hurt!"