DiverDown

So very sorry to hear about your grandfather. My prayers are with you.

My highest jump was actually done during my lvl 6 AFF. The otter pilot snuck us to 16.5 after someone passed around a petition demanding more altitude on the ride up. Hehe! Jonathan ~Go big or go home!

What has really moved me while reading Michele's thread concerning the cutaway was how strongly it affected her and her strength in getting through it. For some people it's getting in the door. For some, relaxing in freefall. For Michele it was this cutaway. Fear, or more correctly, your response to that fear, is the real killer when you engage in any dangerous activity. I'm sorry to say that I've seen it numerous times in scuba diving. Getting tangled in a kelp bed for example. No big deal, yet I know those who have drowned because they panicked. Having a high pressure hose break 50 feet underwater. No big deal, yet because they panicked and held their breath while racing to the serface their lungs ruptured. In either case, staying calm and performing as they were trained would have saved their life. I'm sure everyone knows similiar sad stories. In my line of work we refer to any traumatic event as a critical incident. What might be no big deal for one person can have a dramatic effect on another in the same situation. Pulling through the aftermath can be the hardest part. Thats when you later ponder the what if's and give your fear another shot at gaining control. Michele is a total winner on both counts. She controlled her fear during the event and then overcame it to move on. I've never had the pleasure of meeting you Michele but I want you to know how very proud I am of you. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your jumps! Jonathan ~ Go big or go home! ~

ROFL! Too funny. Congrats on your jump. That actually sounded like a fun way to do level 6. Should have taken my AFF at Perris. Best of luck to you on lvl 7!!!

Me three.

Don't forget skydive Monterey Bay and skydive Hollister are within 30 minutes of each other so bring the rig too :)

I just came across this article (kinda long) on canopy flight. Has some good tips on the flare about halfway through. A good read. http://www.pierltd.com/new/main/flyingthecanopy.htm

Michele, One of the biggest unknowns I wonder about in this sport is how will I react when the time comes? Judging from some of the other posts here it is something many of us give some thought to. Will I react quickly, without any hesitation or will I keep messing with that ball of crap over my head for too long? You should be very proud of yourself since you have just answered that question for yourself while many of us are still left to wonder how we will perform when our time comes. So congratulations to you for a job well done! And congratulations in knowing for a fact that you can and will deal with a malfunction should it happen to you! Blue Skies!!

My first few jumps I was doing the same thing, beginning my flare about twice as high as I should have. One of the jumpmasters who watched my landing suggested I try looking down to the ground at about a 45 degree angle to help with the depth perception. It worked! (At least so far). Looking at my log book I now have 28 jumps with the last 24 being standups. Now if I can just land on the actual drop zone more often it'll all be good. (I swear the DZ is smaller than the floor plan of my house).

I'm new to the sport but got a good deal on a used vector II container with the appropriate sized canopies at my dropzone so I went for it. I only had 15 jumps when I got it, but I wanted to be able to build that familiarity that comes from using your own gear versus rentals.

After lurking for a few days and reading your posts I wanted to write to say hi to everyone. Years ago on a trip to a beach, it suddenly occurred to me that scuba chicks were ALL babes! So I naturally had to learn to scuba dive. That I didn't know how to swim at the time was no big obstacle, just a few classes at the local pool did the trick, then the PADI course and I was a scuba diver. After 10 years in the sport though I was beginning to get a bit bored. I needed a new pasttime. So a non-jumping buddy jokingly asks me "why not take up skydiving"? So off I go to the local DZ and guess what? All skydiving chicks are babes!!!!! I mean even the non jumping lady working the counter was waaay hot! OH..this I gotta try! That I didn't know how to fly was no big obstacle, just a little 7 jump course was all I needed. 26 jumps later I wonder why I didn't try this sooner! As an extra bonus I have to say that as a group all you skydivers out there are about the coolest people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. So now looking for some new gear and ran across this canopy description. What do ya think? http://www.pierltd.com/new/main/propage.cfm?part=501