L.O.

Sharpchuters rule!!

$345 for 5 S/L s + 20 ffs and $1100 for the first rig. That was 1991. Not much has changed at my home DZ. I am sure Lynn (wildfan75) will post how much it cost her. Check that out. She started this year. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

Germs are good for you. If you live in an evironment without germs, you don't ever test yourself or your body. The children who grow up in a germ free household will not develop like they should. Protect your kids, but..,Let them roll around in the dirt, eat things they shouldn't. Let them be the way nature intended. If you eliminate germs from your world, you have a better chance of becoming ill when you do encounter them. Just a pet peeve of mine. Sorry. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

I realize it's not the hub of the skydiving world but I will be at Skydive Wissota in WI.. Me and at least 10 or 20 other skydivers. We will jump New Years eve and New years day. New Years day we jump in to a Polar Plunge. Fund raiser. I wanted to go naked. It's televised, so they said no. I wrote about this demo last year, telling about the jump and plunge. This is an invite to all the northern Skydivers who don't jump in the winter. At least come out and party with skydivers even if you don't jump We miss you HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

My sex life wasn't that great until a few months ago..., then..., my current girl came along. Wow, The sex has been better then any I have ever had. Mind boggling, earth shattering, it bends time and space. But, it's not the sex. It's the before sex and after sex. I want to be around this girl at both times and I don't want to go to sleep. Life is good. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

If that really happened calvin, You should be ashamed. You have put your friend at risk and also a DZ and all the people you call friends there. Even when everything is done right people die in this sport. You took your buddy and put us all at risk. We could have lost a DZ, a future skydiver and who knows how many people who saw the news report after his death. I have done a lot of stupid things in my life, But my mistakes have for the most part just put me in a bad way, not everyone else. If that did happen, I suggest you don't tell anyone ever again and hope no one remembers this post. Todd Jacobson S&TA P.S. If that happened, don't even show your face at my DZ HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

Hey Ryan, nice to see that skydiving interests you so much. S/L and AFF, both great programs, both have + -. For you it seems that Staticline is the proper choice. Despite all the arguments for and against, when it comes down to it, doing one AFF every month or even every couple weeks is not that good. You will find, that skydiving is in large part learned through osmosis. If you can only make it to the DZ once a month for your AFF, plan on a couple failed levels. staticline is going to have you spending a lot more time at the DZ, making a lot more jumps and as a result learning a lot more. you will become much more a part of the DZ you jump at. Aff is a great program and I can't say that it isn't a good way to go for a lot of people. The people in your situation should avoid AFF because it's just not practical. To reach the same point via staticline costs a great deal less but gives you the same skills. I expect and even hope that others will respond to this post giving you more angles on the story. With your income, there can be only one logical move to make, thats S/L. Thats my opinion of coarse. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

I didn't teach anyone that exit. I was filling in for Marcus Thorton. I stepped in at the last minute. The violence of hitting the air isn't that bad, it's the violence of the first person hitting the air with the last person still inside the airplane. KABOOM!! Sorry I don't spell check. I was in a hurry, Friend. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

I have never bothered to respond to these threads before so I didn't realize how this worked. I reported 0-1-0 in truth it was 2-1-0 HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

I have to say, It's not the coach rating. It's the people who want the money for everything. I sat in on a coach coarse this weekend at Skydive Wissota, in WI. The coarse was run by Mark Bauer and Miles hubbard. I was very impressed by how thorough these guys were. The coaches that came out of that class were proficient or didn't graduate. So I say again it's not the rating. The rating is a good idea. It is the need to charge a bunch of money to get people started in the sport. I don't mind paying the big bucks for Advanced coaching but to expect a newbie to spend the money just to have a safe skydive is Bul$%hit. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

The only problem with the "around the next guy" grip technique, is getting hold of the wrong thing and pulling a handle on the way by as you release. I only tried that once when I filled in for another organizer on a ten way comp jump. One guy got deployed as we broke apart. I would suggest against this type of exit. The exit speeds are to high for that. The violence of hitting the air at that speed is to much. But what do I know I only have 35 727 jumps and every ten way speedstar jacket from the jet or high speed Casa since 96. Just get as close as you can to your partners and giv'r. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

One of the worst weekends of the year 0-1-0. One load from 11, temp was about 15 at alt but ran into a layer at break off, super cool, instant freeze. High winds(20+), 1/2 frosted shield on the Factory diver. At least the kids were there to run out and meet me after landing and the skydive went OK. I hate winter. Why do I live here. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

The jet is an interesting jump ship. I have done four. The exit is unlike anything else in current use. 65 is reasonable. The exit speed is intense. If you bring feinds, you had better be tight on exit. It will take your whole skydive to get together If your not. Good luck, have fun. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

Sorry HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

I kissed a*s a little to hard that time didn't I? HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

bill von novak=correct HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

Bill is 100% correct, we should not just bash AZ. They are super busy and they don't have the time to check up on every student through the door. You really should have checked in before showing. You wont do that again will ya. A small DZ has the advantage on little things like that. We could have figured it out for ya. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

I'm sure it wont happen again. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

That was only an invite to skydive, don't get any ideas. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

Wow! I never expected people on here to agree and even support me. I think I might faint...,..., It is good to see that others can see what we are doing to ourselves. The offer was honest Bob, come over any time we will help you get some jumps in. We are open all winter. I know a few people in Michigan. Now I know another. Dick Swanson is a DZ owner over there somewhere. I hope next time you are over in WI you make it to Skydive wissota. I am the S&TA. You are welcome to Jami. Hell, your all welcome. Everyone, I love you all. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

I have to stand up for Lynn and say good questions. It is an old subject but she is new and wants to get the new ideas. I have to say the openning are not that bad. But they do have the potential to get real bad way faster then a appropriately loaded 9-cell. So strike one. If you use the X-braced canopy for the cool factor, You are stupid. you make that low turn in traffic or need do some other evasive close to the ground, your dead. Thats not cool. Strike two A good 9-cell will get about as much surf on a straight in, without the plethora of hazards associated with these canopies. I raced motorcycles when I was younger. Spent years racing, before I could drive a car. After more then a decade of off road racing experience, I graduated to street racing for a short span, . I no longer own a street racer. I couldn't devote the time to be safe. I tell this story because it applies directly to super fast canopies. I don't think people should own a super fast bike if they can't be 100%, it's just to much for anything less. This is a dangerous sport, and it is your choice. but unless your on the ball all the time and you make lots of jumps, please reconsider the cross-b canopy. Just ask yourself, why you want to give up any part of that saftey cushion. I make 450 jumps a year, I am always on x-braced (except 30+CReW, 30+fury accuracy). Even then the canopy is only just behind me, waiting for the mistake. When I make that mistake I hope I'm on the Fury. IIIIIII it's all about me. I got way off subject with that one Wildfan75 just made me think a little. I hope everyone else does to. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

Unfortunately Bob, you are dealing with a commercial operation. Unfortunately, todays market also allows many individuals to make at least a mediocre living helping low timers learn to skydive better. The coach rating is in my opinion, blowing the sport out of the water. Let me strike that last statement. It is not the rating itself doing the damage. It is the people who are unwilling to help others and not get something for themselves. I got almost all my instruction for free. I now feel that it is my duty (it is also my privilege) to help others find the joy and satisfaction that I have found in this sport. It disgusts me that people are charged for something we (experienced jumpers) should all give away to help the sport grow. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Air-speed should be over at my place giving free instruction. But the basic skills needed to make the sport fun, shouldn't cost. The USPA asks "why are the numbers going down, what can we do to bring them back up". Stop charging new jumpers just to hang out with them for starters. Come to my DZ in WI we will get you the highest skill level you want. and all you pay for is the $15 plane ride to 11G. Maybe some tunnel time to. We can get world class coachs for free to. I know it's a Cessna, but we have two world teamers, two 4-way teams and a lot of very good skydivers. They don't beg off if you sign up they jump with you. We don't charge but a pitense in comparison and you get it all. I took a bunch of people with 50 to 150 jumps away from home this weekend, most had never done an 8-way or jumped an otter. Down to Skydive Chicago we went. We did 6 or 7 ways. They weren't great but it wasn't to bad either. I have devoted thousands of jumps and thousands and thousands of hours to help people enjoy the sport. I just want it to be that way every place you go. So blast away people, disagree with me if you want. But tell me how the rise of the coach rating and the fall in USPA numbers don't correspond. That should get my bitching out for at least 6 months. Thanks everyone. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

Do now HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

Got my 105 done last year by Brian. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.

Yes,... at boogies and when visiting other DZs. So I could get on the hot skydives with all the really good jumpers. This was many many years ago. Obviously, I don't need to do that anymore. When I only had 100 jumps, I would say 500 or more. It worked for me to lie. I never F-ed up thank god. I always had the skills to pay the bills. That was the problem, I had the skills but unless I said I had more jumps people wouldn't give me a chance to show it. I never failed to show them I could do it,. Most of the time I was faster and better then most. So I used the lie to get what I wanted. I never failed to tell them eventually, It was fun to hang with the hot hot skydivers, be included in the super cool group. Then at the end of the day say"oh I only have 82 jumps, I lied sorry. As a organizer, I get people who lie all the time. They want just what I wanted, to be on the experienced load and do hot skydives. Thats OK with me as long as they can do what they say. Jump numbers are nothing, it's all about your ability. If you are a natural, do what you have to. I find it hard to believe that more people weren't honest on this thread. Skydivers are generally very driven ambitious people. If they have it they do it. They do what they need to to get ahead. Maybe I shouldn't have done what I did but it got me to the places I wanted to be. I never blew it, so it was all golden. I don't have 4600 jumps either..., I have 4684. Sorry I lied. HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member.