MacGram

Pride - HELL YEAH! Besides, have you seen those "silly men with big asses"? Not only are they hotties but they're genuinely nice guys! Make the game even more fun to watch!!

Thanks to everyone for the great advice and comments. I still have a lot to learn and hope to see some of you in the skies some day. Got to get back to work now so I can afford to jump next spring and summer. to you all!

Matt, since you don't have access to my driving record, and can't dispute it, I'm going to say that I have never exceeded the posted speed limit!

Thanks, Tom. I've already picked up The Skydivers Handbook and will pick up yours, too. I've got the winter to find out as much as I can. Are there any DVDs that are good for a beginner/student? Thanks for the advice on the DZ. I'm going to be check out as many as I can before I decide.

Thanks, Lisa. Being new, I don't know this stuff. That's why I asked. If in doubt, I'll ask people as they come back. After that, best thing for me to do is go up, check it and decide. Thanks again.

You're right. I know I have MUCH to learn and once I've picked out a DZ, I can concentrate on those things. At this stage, I have some sense of my responsibilities, but clearly don't know all my responsibilities. Since I'm not going to be able to start until spring, any recommendations on reading material that would benefit me? Thanks much.

Thanks, Brian. I know now I can always go up and if it doesn't feel right to me, then I don't have to jump.

It was in the midwest U.S. I know there's some degree of clouds you're going to go through. Not being up where they jumped, I don't know how clearly they could see. It was so full of clouds that I can't imagine they could see a thing. I was just concerned after reading that you shouldn't go through clouds (for reasons which I can't remember exactly). If this is safe, then I won't concern myself any longer about it. I just know that I personally will not jump when there's lightning bolts coming out of the sky not far away.

I've done two tandems so far and have been checking out DZs to find one I'm most comfortable with in order to take lessons. My radar/red flags were raised this weekend and I need to know whether I should trust my gut or if I'm worrying needlessly. I've been reading and seem to remember mention of not flying through clouds. There were lots of (possibly) storm clouds over this DZ and lightning was not far away. I'm not a meteorologist but it looked like it had the possible makings for a good storm. They loaded the plane (about four of which were tandems) and flew off. They did fly into the clouds and people obviously were coming through the clouds and opening (including the tandems). Is this safe and is it something that routinely happens? Thanks for your comments.