brianfry713

First jump, AFF L1 at 18. Second jump, AFF L1 at 24 when I had enough money and the desire to actually continue jumping.

I know this thread is old, but good job on saving your life. Next time you're spinning or something else is wrong and you have time, try using risers or toggles to stop the spin, and then pump the toggles to try and clear the mal. Try it twice (altitude permitting), if you can't clear it, get rid of it.

Here you go, the DZ's contact info. Do I win? I'm guessing they know how to get ahold of their DZO. Either that or they don't need to because they know the company policy. http://www.skydivemontereybay.com/contact.html Good luck getting them honored as anything but a souvenir of the old SMB. I've lost plenty of tickets myself, including some in freefall, that weren't replaced at other DZs in the area. It definitely sucks, and I try not to buy very many tickets in advance now. I've also had tickets that were wasted because of a change in ownership. I was given some notice and a grace period, I just didn't find them in my gear bag until it was too late. I much prefer the system of not having any bulk rates, letting you pay at the end of the day or leave a credit card, and a computer to keep track of your account.

Congrats. It looks nice on the ground, I'll have to see it close up in the air to be sure.

I saw the Goodyear blimp was circling AT&T park (SF Giants) for the All-Star festivities 7/7-7/10. There were also helicopters, small airplanes (some towing banners), and a few fighter jet fly-by's. Riddler, why would jumping out of those aircraft be illegal. Surely you could in theory actually get permission for some of them.

Thanks everyone. I'm 28 now. I'll go start looking for more bald spots and gray hairs. I've been a dirty old man for at least 10 years now. I almost caught a foul ball at the Giants-Dodgers game today but I'm so old the ball bounced out of my glove before I could react. The guy behind me who pushed me onto the ground as I was about to make the catch didn't help either, or the guy who picked it up off the ground as I dove after it and then made fun of me.

Do you have an audible that can't be adjusted in the plane? A visual altimeter is useless if you never look at it. It's better to pull once the ground starts getting big. If you're jumping into clouds you'd better know your altitude and that there is nothing underneath or in them. Maintain altitude awareness at all times no matter what happens during the skydive. Check your shit, and check it often. 3 buckles, 3 handles, 3 rings.

The turbine DZ's closest to Lodi are Davis and Byron. Lodi is open every day of the year, but tends to shut down a few hours before sunset. Byron and Davis are usually closed Monday and Tuesday, and open midweek if there are tandems. Both will run Cessnas if they're aren't enough people to fill the turbines, but that's usually only on the weekdays. There is no running water in Byron. Davis has camping spots and showers. Davis is great for freeflying and usually has people organizing. There are usually some good freeflyers and RW'ers in Byron. Both land right next to the hangar and airport. A strong northerly wind will usually shut down Davis. Byron is almost always windy, but there are usually people who will jump in strong winds up to a point. Both have cool friendy people.

That Jay is such a gentleman. Surely some of you ladies are looking for a man who helps you climb over the rail so your legs don't get bruised.

I found it, the search didn't seem to work for this one. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=2526933 My goals are going well, I've had a lot of fun so far and looking forward to the rest of the year. I'd say I'm about half done, but I'm always thinking of new stuff to try.

I'll be trying to break my record for most skydives in a day.

Yup, post 'em. We posed for the shots. Walden (on the right) sometimes reads the forums but never posts. He kept trying to cover himself up with his canopy but the crowd wouldn't let him.

I would have bought a used rig, then I could jump it right away and not have to wait or rent while a new rig is getting built or delayed. I don't want to even go a week without gear, so if I can afford it, I'll always have at least one full rig before buying a new piece of gear, and then sell the old stuff once I feel like it and I'm jumping with the new stuff.

Before I started jumping, I was about 255 lbs, 6'4". I ran up and down a lot of stairs, hills, and other stuff and didn't eat as much and got down to around 200 lbs before I started AFF. I had one jump already, so I knew I wanted to do it, and the DZ had a weight limit for AFF students I had to be under. Skydiving was the main motivation for me to lose weight, and it still is one of them for me to keep it off. As a new heavy jumper you will only be able to jump only with people who can fall very fast on their belly, or who want to freefly with you. You will likely need a very baggy jumpsuit or wings. Equipment will need to be bigger and appropriate for your weight. The instructors will need to be able to match your fall rate. Also the bigger you are, the harder you fall, and the more likely you are to break something on bad landings. I would recommend not buying any gear yet, calling all the DZs near where you want to jump and see if they can accommodate you. Gear rental is included in every AFF course I've seen.

I'll be there with my GTi.

Bump. Two more sleeps. I'll be there Friday afternoon through Sunday night and ready for some night skydives and boogie fun. Tall Guy, I think we'd all prefer girl on girl action, but I'm sure some guys will wind up in the Jello. Maybe you could start a collection and get a few jump tickets to the female champions, to encourage participation. Set up a tournament bracket with audience judging, that way it's more about the entertainment factor instead of the actual wrestling ability.

4.5 on a Mr. Bill on a VX 90. I wasn't really flying it, just hanging onto the guy attached to it. I let go around 3,000 feet. The max I've landed is a Sabre 2 135 at 1.85

I jumped it as a main right after this video was shot and I'm about 230 without gear, I think that's a little over max recommended weight. After a very short delay the opening was softer than most of my slider down BASE openings. It was a lot of work getting the slider down but I later heard that it's not supposed to come all the down. I got a little downwind of the LZ and couldn't make it back as I wasn't moving forward at all in light Byron winds. I tried to flare on rears, but I don't think I did too much. I landed on a small hillside and did a PLF downhill that wasn't that hard of a landing. Fun stuff.