Witelli

What if it read this, and it basically does unless you personally know the Iraqi who's nuts are to be zapped: If attaching a car battery to {someone who you don't know's} nuts will save the life of {someone who is protecting your freedom and country}, I have two things to say: 1) Red is positive 2) Black is negative If you had to pick, who would it be? Sorry, that's just me being a pain in the ass. And, you're right that isn't something that should be said by a member of our armed forces or even said in this forum. But if I had to choose, I'm saving the soldier every time unless he's up against someone close to me. One more thought. Why is it you can say anything you want about a WHITE MALE, but try and say anything about anyone other than, and you're ripped apart? How do we get this thread moved to the Bonfire, 'cause this could be fun.

Great advice, smiling really works. I don't know how, but it does help.

This is pretty much what I plan to do, however we're seasonal at my home DZ in N.Y., I think they're only open from like March-November, maybe even less. Assuming 5 jumps on the days I go, maybe I could pull out 80 or 90 for the year. That wouldn't be so bad. I guess once I get my A, I'll have 60 days before going uncurrent. That only means 2 quick trips over the winter to a DZ that's open. It's sounding better already. Thanks for the advice for my upcoming jump. If I feel comfortable, I'll go alone. If not, I'll just take a coach jump. I need coach jumps to get my A anyway right?

I completed AFF and did my first solo on 7/31. I did 3 jumps that day, AFF6,7 and the solo. I was very nervous at the beginning of the day, but that subsided after my first jump since everything went well and I gained confidence in getting stable and all. #7 I had more confidence and didn't really worry much, felt more relaxed and did everything I was supposed to. Same thing on my solo, the confidence was building and all I did on my solo was practice pulls, I actually flew for @ 5 seconds with my hand on the hacky (I don't know what the plastic tube is called, so let's just call it a hacky) and was able to maintain a perfect heading. So, when I left that day, I finally realized I had it, like riding a bike...or is it? Once again, I'm getting nervous. Since I probably won't be able to jump until 8/25, which is our boogie and I have it etched in the calendar. My question is...Is that too long to go without jumping at my level? I think you become uncurrent after 30 days at my level and I'll be at 25 days. Will I be fine jumping out the back of the CASA (I've only jumped from a caravan)? I would have said definitely on 7/31, but as time goes by I start to get nervous again. Do I have the muscle memory yet? I'll probably become uncurrent every year with the weather in N.Y., and since I have 3 kids and can't really get away to keep current over the winter. So, my questions are...Is 25 days too long to do my 2nd solo? Do many people enjoy skydiving doing less than 50 jumps per year?

Congrats bro. Since we've been pretty much going through this at the same time, I'm really glad to see you had so much fun on #6. I had a lot of anxiety that day as well, first solo exit, diving exit, flips and stuff. But once I did it, I have to tell you my confidence grew tremendously, I'm sure yours did too. Also, the first solo was amazing. You really can look around more since you have nothing else to do. Enjoy and keep us posted!!!

I had the same experience, it seems that as soon you learn how to get stable, the next jump they want you to get unstable. I was very scared anticipating those levels. I have to tell the flips, diving exit and tracking are all really fun. I did level 6 & 7 as well as my first solo last weekend. It was the best skydiving experience so far. Everyone is cheering you on and you really gain confidence on those last 2 jumps. The solo was kickass, I didn't know what to do with myself since nothing was expected of me. I just enjoyed the ride, a practice ripcord touch here and there and that's it. Good luck, keep us posted.

The statistics don't misrepresent anything, they are what they are. If you choose to interpret the statistics as if they imply something that they do not imply, that's your problem. Statistics mean a lot and can be very misrepresenting. If you have 10 million people in a state where there is only one skydiver, the fatality rate in that state would be either 0% or 100% of skydivers in that state died while skydiving, depending on that one skydiver. Either way, even if he died skydiving the percentage of people in that state who died skydiving would be 1/10,000,000. I would like to see a statistic where they compared the total number of jumps in a year for everyone to the number of fatalities that occurred when skydivers were just trying to land safely. In other words, how safe can the sport be? I guess this statistic I'm looking for would only include malfunctions that couldn't be corrected with basic training (AFF). If the wuffo's saw that statistic only, which would be pretty low I'm assuming, maybe skydiving would become more popular. But would it be a good thing if EVERYONE skydived? Hmmmm.

Things like this are great to hear. I just dumped a crapload of money to complete AFF. Now I enjoy the sport so much, but I know I can't be as hardcore as I'd like to be. Now that it's somewhat affordable I hope to just take a day here and there to enjoy my time skydiving. Because I would feel really guilty taking money and time away from my wife and 3 kids. I'm happy to see others out there enjoy the sport in the same way I do.

Are you referring to birthday or birthmonth in your calculation?

I had a similar issue, I couldn't hear the radio with the winds and all on my first AFF, I just heard bits and pieces. After that I made sure I was equipped to land without any guidance. It was a bit scary but taught me a valuable lesson. You're ultimately responsible for yourself, and never to rely on anyone else. At least my AFFI wasn't off with his head up his ass, he was always there for me, you just never can be too careful. Congrats on your A, I hope to be there soon too.

I totally agree. One of the first things you'll learn in AFF is that you are totally responsible for what you are getting into. That is why you need to be a USPA member to fly alone, with that comes liability insurance. You are considered a pilot, flying your body which I'm learning is freakin incredible. I'm not sure how one DZ could have a higher percentage of fatalities unless their gear is crap or the people there are irresponsible. Keep your eyes open, ask questions and come to your own conclusions. I firmly believe if the gear is good and noone is in your way, and you're responsible, this is a pretty safe sport.

This is the beauty of it, as in skiing. You can enjoy it in your own way, however you want, whenever you want.

What movies have you been in?

Isn't this what my calculation proves??? You can't notice 1 ft. when it's 5,000 feet away. But if you want to use the 300 foot scenario, that's a difference of 16 feet in my calculation. You may notice 16 feet when it's only 300 feet away.

I agree with much of what you had to say, I'd just like to comment on 1 thing. Golf is GAY, if anything isn't a sport, it's golf. Booger flicking would be more strenuous than golf. Skydiving can be enjoyed at any level. Obviously, the more conservative the skydiver the less chance of injury. The margin of error increases as your canopy size decreases. That is why the majority of fatalities involve experienced skydivers.

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but this kind of explains something. Draw a right triangle and use the pythagorean theorem. They'll be 3 points, a spot on the ground, your original spot 5000 ft above and your new spot 100 feet over. So 5000 squared + 100 squared = 25,010,000. So, the square root of 25,010,000 is 5,001. Even though you moved 100 feet up there you are only 1 foot further from the original point on the ground in distance.

I GOT IT!!! How about a "SWARM" of skydivers???

Sorry, I didn't thank you all on the forums for your supprot. THANK YOU.

I just graduated from AFF today!!! and I want to thank everyone from Skydive Long Island, especially Rich who gave me an awesome experience and equipped me with everything I needed (knowledge and confidence). He is an awesome AFFI. Thanks Dunk for getting me through the tandems and helping to get me interested in the sport. I'd also like to thank my brother Mike for introducing me to this incredible sport, and everyone else at the DZ for making me feel part of something great. If anyone has a chance to come to Skydive Long Island, DO IT!!! Great people, great view, and great times.

My progression is called AFP. 3 tandems, then 7 AFF levels with an instructor. I think this is also a good option if your dropzone offers it. You get to experience freefall with a tandem instructor while you learn altitude awareness, turning, waving off and pulling. Then, the last 7 jumps are with 1 instructor. Is this popular with other DZ's?

Hi, This may seem like somewhat of a dumb question, but I'm new to the sport and am starting to look at gear. I'm a little confused as to what non-articulated/semi-articulated/articulated mean as it refers to the harness. Could someone please describe to me what are the physical characteristics of each as well as the advantages/disadvantages of these. Thank you very much.

Hey think of it this way, there was no jumping the next two days due to weather, so you didn't miss out on much. Also, being a newbie who was hoping to jump that weekend, I learned something from your mishap and I'm sure others did too. The main thing is that noone got hurt. Now let's look forward to the August boogie!!!

I had the same problem on my first tandem. I do however remember having a minor head cold that day. Since then, I've done 7 jumps and haven't had a problem at all. See what happens on your next jump, and I like to yawn as the plane is climbing to equalize my ears. That works best for me. good luck.

This is an interesting thread. I'm new to the sport and loving it. Whenever I'm driving home after, I have this totally laid back feeling. I did 3 AFF jumps the other day (the most I've ever done in one day)going to 13.5K. I went out to dinner with my family after and couldn't stop yawning. I was so tired. Are these the affects you can get from this? I just thought it was sun/nerves/newbie jitters that was tiring me. Hmmm, I'll definately pay more attention to my psysiological state when jumping. This is really good to know.

Unless you are jumping in tall prairie grass, that makes as much sense as waiting until your car hits the brick wall before touching the brake pedal! Hah! Hah! Hah! I meant the fact that I actually went up. Since the winds were pretty high as soon as I flared, I felt myself go up a foot or two instantly, then drop straight down. I guess there's more to flaring than they teach you in the beginning. Right now it's just "flare all the way and hold". When I watch others, there seems to be some technique to it. I'm sure I'll get it soon, I just like to be hard on myself. Thanks everyone for your advice.