Belgian_Skygirl

Maybe you should just stand up and say... I can be fun too! You shouldn't keep a low profile at the dz, just give people the oppportunity to see another side from you as well and maybe it is better to keep a low profile on our Belgian forum. And maybe just go with the flow... I know you are cool, OK maybe you think too much about some things but that makes part of who you are. But on the internet sometimes you sound like a teacher... this has got nothing to do with you being right or not,... I think people don't like that... and I know your concern is to jump. The reactions are not fun, I know... but maybe you should judge a little bit less... I think everybody has an opinion, but spreading it... sometimes it is not worthed... maybe you still don't have the authority and it is not accepted. I repeat, I haven(t jumped for a while, I don't have much experience and it is not about being right or wrong... it is just about: what can we do to help you to regain motivation... ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

Hi Thijs, We know each other a little bit and I don't think there is anything wrong with you. I used to jump at your dz (I am having a break due to personal matters), but people at you dz are fun and so are you. Maybe, just maybe you should accept (and so do the fellow jumpers) that people are unique and have different characters... and even on the forum, it is not always about being right or not... sometimes people just have to watch themselves first. It happens that people do not match together, and maybe this should be accepted by everybody. I like most people and get along with most people... serious people but fun people as well... and yes, when I read on our forum, you sometimes have a point (I think, but as I haven't jumped for a while, I don't know what things are like right now at our dz), but other people are sometimes right as well... and when you say things maybe the wrong people take it personal? However, I like you, and I like the other jumpers as well and I hope to see all of you very soon. I agree with what is told here... maybe you should change dz... maybe you should change your behaviour to make sure that other people's behaviour will change along. Maybe it is nobody's fault that you feel bad and unaccepted, but maybe it just happened and I am sure it is all due to misunderstanding each other... ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

As I am from Belgium and this thread is very long... could some-one please tell me the exact problem with Skyride? I have the impression they are not ethical and take advantage of people? Am I mistaken if I found that people react emotional on them? If not, why is this the case? Normally I would be in the States right now, but due to personal circumstances I had to postpone it for a year. I will not visit the States just to skydive, but of course I will visit some dropzones to do some jumps. If Skyride is that bad, I don't want to go there... but I need to know why and where their dz's are situated. I hope you guys understand what I am saying. The fact that so many people here at dz. com respond negatively towards them is of course a very good reason to know something is wrong with that organization, but where can I find the info? I am very sorry, but reading over 1000nds of posts... I don't have the time.... I would be glad if somebody could tell me more about as I don't want to end up at their dz's if they really are that bad. Thank you in advance! ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

Hi Niek, Welcome... Where in the Netherlands doe you jump (or do you intend to jumpt)? Groetjes, ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

I am of course not an instructoer with my few jumps... but I have a question... you declined some double amputees. Is it that hard to fly them? I can imagine that having no legs could influence the freefall, but I am curious... is there a reaon those people should not do a tandem? You know, I once taked to a lady with 2 amputed legs and she wanted a skydive and she said she probably couldn't do it... it skipped my mind until this thread... ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

Well... maybe the drinking habbits are different in Europe (off topic). In Italy, France, Spain it is not unusual to take a glass of wine with dinner. It reminds me of a story. We were on a holiday in Portugal once and we met a couple that used to live in the States. They asked for a bottle of wine in a restaurant (dinner) and they were asked: a whole bottle? They had the feeling they were considered as alcoholics, whil here it is not unusual to drink a bottle of wine while having dinner in a restaurant. Of course, this is not done dayly or at home... But at our dz there is a strict alcohol restriction during the activities, even for non-jumpers. In £empuria f.i. one can have a beer if I am not mistaken, but I never saw a jumper drinking during the activities... but this may be just what I saw and I had other things to do of course .... ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

Well, a tandem is a tandem and there are lots of beautiful places on the mainland of Europe... and prices? well, they differ, but the differences are not huge. Near to Barcelona, there is Empuria. Empuria is great to do a skydive... nice beaches, a beautiful city (the old town is very small but pittoresque and the new part ... it is a worth a visit with all the water.... you can compare it with Venice). It is at about 1 hour from barcelona. It is the region of Dahli... in a neigbouring village you can visit one of most remarkable architectural works of Dahli... You are not far from the mountains either, so plenty of opportunities to do exciting sports. And yes, skydive is expensive. But it is expensive everywhere. ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

idd, and one can rent an appartment during the holiday. We did it last summer and it was great. Some weeks ago i was told that de swimming pool at the dz will make place for a windtunnel and that one cannot swim overthere, but i don't know whether it is just gossip or not. ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

At our dz no alcohol is being served at alle during the activites. Whoever wants to have a beer will have to wait untill the jump activities are finished. Visitors of the dz follow the same policy. ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

I am sorry for the intrusion, as I am not an instructor. I only have about 75 jumps, but all my AFF levels were caught on tape by my instructor . As you know an AFF course is expensive and I did not have the money to be videod. However, the shootings from my instructor helped me a lot to undertand what I did wrong... and I am very gratefull he filmed me. I don't know if there are any risks involved. I only know it helped a lot. ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

The risk is acceptable as long as things go well, and they are not if they turn out bad. I think there is a difference ebtween an acceptable risk for society and an acceptable risk for an individual. ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

Within 2 weeks I hope to start to jump again. I haven't jumped since the end of August, due to non-skydiving related injuries and bad weather. I am really looking forward to going back, but I feel a little bit afraid again... I have landing fear. I know I have to jump with an instructor, but you know, my landings were getting better and I was about to downsize to a Specter 150, but the weekend I was going to, I had those injuries. Now I wonder.... I know I cannot jump with the 150 immediately... so should I jump with a 170? A 190? A 200, Or bigger? I only have 75 jumps and due to illness and stress I weigh 98 lb. I want to start confident. Thank you in advance for your opinions. ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

I am glad both of you are ok. Last summer, I was almost the victim of a canopy collision... a girl with only 3 solo's was talking (under canopy, yelling is a better word) to her friends and she was looking to them, and came in my direction. She was above me... I saw a foot at my right side, so I turned left. Once landed I got very angry, as she wasn't paying attention at all at the canopies around her. I was very lucky. ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

If you don't like to jump any more, just don't...I met a guy from about 50 years old some time ago and he told me he had jumped for over 20 years. 8 years ago he got bored. He quit. Now he found himself new hobby's: he goes to the north pole once a year for 4 days to drive a snow scooter, to live in the colde etc..; he started to dive, ... and he doesn't feel sorry about his decision. A sport of a hoby must be enjoyable, especially higr risk hobby's or sports s.a. skydiving as if one does not enjoy it any more, the risk remains... and it is an expensive sport: spending lots of money on something which isn't fun any more... it is a pitty... I am rather a newbie in the skydive world, but I always do what I like to do and I don't what I don't like to do ... ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

This summer in Empuria, there were 2 kids that went to Empuria as well (the younger brothers of the couple that came with us) and they did a tandem. They were 12 anr 13 years old and the instructor said that kids generally spoken act very natural. Of course... he has got stories as well from skydiving parents that absolutely wanted their kids to do a tandem... and they were terrified at the door and grabed everything they could. In those cases the JM don't jumps. The 2 kids that came along at our holiday wanted to jump... and it was not the idea of their sister and skydiving husband... they just wanted to do it and at the end they finally got what they wanted. Their parents sent a fax to the dz to give their permission and the kids were very very very happy. ------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?