FFAddict

I cant remember if you are offered a choice or not on the website but i checked my dvds and both are PAL. With a relatively new DVD player this is not an issue anymore as they will play stuff from all regions

The longer you spend in the sport the more you will realise nothing is cheap, and if you find summit that is it may not be safe. Just to clarify to get qualified you will have to do AFF, which is 8 levels (8 jumps) and then 10 consolidation jumps not 20. Having said that everything is expensive i just had a very quick look at the first dz that came to mind they charge 1250 for the full course not 1500. so if you have a look around you will find a cheaper deal. For a list of uk dz's look at the dropzones section of this site, all the dz's have diff good and bad points and will have to do a forum search if you want details on that. You will definately find a cheaper course if you look abroad at spain... although with flights... it will end up costing about the same as the UK you will get a holiday to boot. If your a uni student then its pritty likely your uni will have a skydive club and you may beable to get a small discount if you book through them or if a group frm the club do AFF together keep safe stephen

The original soul flyers is easy to find in just about every DZ shop, but if you want soul flyers 2 your probably best to order it on www.para-mag.com or on www.flyyourbody.com. Both sites invlove ordering in french but its worth the trouble, and if you do a forum search for the sites people have done guides to fill out the forms fo the non french speakers like me. I ordered a copy of both befor christmas and had them within 3 weeks.

Andre1, thought i would reserect this thread and see if you had the canopy done in the end and how it turned out if you did?

I do not want to discourage you from starting jumping, it is something i love and im sure you will love it too. But you must realise that this is not a cheap sport and going for the cheapest option is not always the best idea both because of safety and because of your learning. Having said that i have heard very good things about free fall university from visiting skydivers and students like you and im sure they will offer you great training. I cant give you first hand info about the place as ive not been yet but it is certainly a DZ i want to visit. Take a look at the dropzone reviews section for some firsthand opinions of the place. You should have no problem with getting qualified in spain and then jumping in the UK. The only possible probelm is that if you dont finish your course you may have to go back a level or two in your progression befor you can carry on training in the uk. but you should be able to get the entire course done easily if the weather is on your side. Good luck, hope you enjoy it Stephen

let me think... - finally get my B licence signed off - its about time all i need is a rainy day and im in the uk! - C licence -150 jumps -Try a few big-ish ways -Get an hours more tunnel time -Maybe even get into a 4 way team i think that will do

Sorry to hear about the car, at least your both ok and awaiting a nice new car from the nice people at the insurance company! I was a bit disapointed not to see sparky after i enjoyed last week so much but it still turned out really well, i really have improved so much over the last two weeks. I get to play with my new found skills next week in sunny spain but ill be back as soon as my bank balance recovers

Just got back from Airkix and it was fantastic, i cant recommend them enough. Im certainly no tunnel expert but i was very impressed with the set up. The coaching was brilliant, thanks Claire, and every tuesday its free :-) I have already signed up for next weeks coaching session, i just cant wait to get back in there. Apparently they are recieving over a thousand calls a day at the moment (please feel free to correct me on that number) which definately explains why i struggled to get through yesterday. I was told to keep trying to get through, but if you cant email them and somebody will sort things out for you. Trust me its worth the little bit of effort to get through Stephen

I emailed Airkix and have just got a reply from Trever Haines appologising and saying he will give me a call tomorrow to book me in. oh and ive got another number, 01908 247772, if anyone else wants to call! I have to admit that i was a bit annoyed that i couldnt through to anybody all day especially when after one call to bedford (thanks Nigel!) i got through but its good to know that when you do make contact they are pritty helpful

thanks for the reply, sadly i managed to find that number in an old post earlier and nobody wants to pick up! i think everybody must be having the day off just to annoy me

Luckily i realised befor i made a complete tit of myself and didnt go asking to book in for team airkix coached time! I did get some info about the jan coaching camp though so not a waste! I didnt think asking a competitor for the number would go down all than well! I thought with all the talk about the new tunnels in here someone would know the bloody number!

hmm... it was only yesterday i spoke to bedford i really should have clocked onto that befor i called them!! I do wanna fly at Bedford infact i think im gonna book into Steve Hamiltons camp in january but i wanna try out Airkix too and with free coaching it would be rude not to!

I have been trying to book in for tomrrow nights coaching session at Airkix but the people i spoke to (on - 0845 331 6549 which is all over the website) are from a call centre and if you need anything outside the wuffo package had no idea what was going on. The did give me another number 01908 247777 but nobody will pick up on that one! Does anybdy have a better number i can use?

Has anybody been along to Airkix free tuesday coaching programme with Team Airkix? What did you think of it? Is it a good idea to be using the tunnel for the first time on the coach night or is it better to get in a bit of time first so you can get the most out of the coaching? Stephen

Skydance Ion for the warm Bonehead Havok for the cold! My huge head (24 3/4 Inch) made the decision for me as these two seem to be the only ones i can find that are big enough! I have to say i do love the look of the Havok though, very Darth Vader esk

Again i am no medical expert so feel free to seek further advice if you want. But i can assure you that the only thing stopping you breathing is you. A small but significant number of new jumpers complain of this problem, it is totally a mental thing stopping you. If you think you cant breath you wont breath, if you relax and dont think about it like you do on the ground you will breath like normal. The more you jump the more relaxed you will be and the easier it will be, just try not to think about it and enjoy the view and im sure that in no time you will be fine Good luck Stephen

Does anybody know when both the UK tunnels will be open over Christmas and new year?

I am certainly not an expert as you can see from my jump numbers so dont take my advice as gold, talk to your instructors... I also went down from a 210 to a 190 at about your level and although i noticed a big differnce in performance (mainly due to the type of canopy) i didnt feel it was any more difficult to fly safely. I have done a few jumps on a 170 (the same canopy as my 190) and it was a much bigger jump than from 210 to 190. There was a much more noticable differnce in the speed on landing and as such the potential risk, so i have decided that im not ready for it yet. Keep in mind that if you make a 20sqf downsize on a large canopy it will only be a small downsize percentage wise. But on a smaller canopy that 20sqft downsize will account for a much larger percentage of the canopy and as such will make a bigger differnce. With all that said i am loading my canopy much higher than you are (about 1.3) and have been since about jump 35. If you have reasonable canopy skills like i did at your level then having a loading of 1.1 or slightly higher is not a problem.

Ive had a good think about the naked thing and decided that for the sake of everyone keeping breakfast down i would give it a miss. To be honest im not really feeling the whole 'cool naked vibe' that so many jumpers seem to have! I am heading out to Seville for the last week of the boogie - i cant wait And what the hell is a horny gorilla? Stephen

i would love to do a big (ish) way but to pull it off i would have to jump with some good jumpers (not a bad thing i know) but i really wanna jump with my friends who are shall we say less than expert i was thinking of doing a sunset haho so i can get in the air with people and not have to worry (as much) about ending up spending my 100 burning a hole in the sky alone after it all falls apart on exit

I know this has been spoken about befor and ive read a million and one old post but i still dont know what to do!! Im heading out to spain after new year so barring a major disaster i should get my 100th and i really wanna make it special HELP!!

I cant give you any first hand information, since ive not been yet, but i have been told by a lot of people that it is a great DZ especially with the new Brit managment. It should be especially good while your out there with the boogie going on, lots to do im sure. I am coming out with a few people just after new year so if your still around im sure we can have a drink or two... and i guess we could skydive!

You will definately not have a problem wearing your glasses under a havok. I bought a havok basically because i liked the look of it, never thinking i would be comfortable wearing my glasses with a full face and was pleasently surprised. Some people think it looks a bit dorky but i love it, I must admit it is a little bigger than most helmets but for the extra comfort and Darth Vader style its worth it!

I made the common mistake of getting over excited and ordering brand new gear very early on which cost me a fortune and ended up missing out on things in the rest of my life so i could still afford to jump. I dont regret buying my gear at all, i got exactly what i wanted and love it. But if i had gone second hand i could have saved a lot of money and not had the stress of finding the money. Get all the little things (alti, helmet...), which although not cheap isnt going to break the bank, and wait until the costs of training are a distant nightmare to buy your own chute. At two jumps you probably wont know what to get anyway so waiting is definately going to help you make better choices.

What is the best way to get hold of the new Soul flyers DVD. Waiting for it to turn in a sunny british DZ shop is going to take forever