Iceburner

I got off my student status this summer, got a rig this summer, and was required to get an AAD....it was one hell of a chunk of change, and had i not been required, i probably wouldn't have gotten an AAD. However, now that i have one, i'm under the impression that if it fires, it was worth the buy....although i'm not planning on it ever needing to fire (i will pull silver long before ever relying on the AAD). I can see why a lot of people are upset about having AAD's required. Part of what makes skydiving fun is that it's dangerous (or appears dangerous)...not that an AAD takes away from this, but untill a 100% effective AAD comes out, i dont think they should be required. I'm already broke from doing all this in 1 summer, and it's about 1200 bucks i could have saved. I have faith in myself, and i believe it should be up to the jumper to have an AAD or not. If they go in w/a no pull, it's most likely their fault (lack of awareness, not doing emergancy procedures, etc). I know there are other instances where AAD's have saved lives, and "would have" saved lives, but flying w/out an AAD is a risk, one which i would have been willing to take....if i truely had the option.

Skymama, One of the few that knows it's Marine and not marine...Semper Fi

i used to be nervous when the door opened as well during my student training. My instructor noticed my hesitation, and when we were on the ground asked me what the worst that could happen up there when the door opened.....of course it's falling out, but you are jumping anyways. I dont know what kind of plane you jump from, but it helped me to right after the door opened stick my head out and feel the breeze....now i love when the door opens, i get the rush of "it's about to happen again" type feeling. I can't believe how much i love this sport.

Hey, Another tip of advice i'll throw out there from one noob to another...if you feel tensed or something isn't going well, say RELAX outloud...shout it if you have to, nobody will hear you, and most likely your body will respond...works for me. ~Ice

New to dropzone.com and the sport in general. 44 Jumps down, and will be adding 2-4 more if the weather is decent this weekend. Anyone know how to get a 1 way ride in a hot air balloon in WI? Sounds like it'd be fun to jump from.