matthias

One of the packers at Waller is 17. To my recollection I have never had any issues on openings when he packed a rig I was jumping. Age of the packers doesn't matter as much as experience and competence do.

0.02

0:6:alot


Did the SCR and had the ceremony saturday night. Getting plastered before the ceremony was the best decision I think I made

Fun weekend!

68 jumps and already had my first SCR attempt last saturday. Nice 7 way going, one couldn't quite find his way in the formation but hopefully it works out this weekend.

1:7:1

B license achieved!

awesome :)

Loved the video :)

I believe this, but I also believe this depends upon where you live. I live in Houston, the 4th largest city. On top of that we have some of the worst drivers and due to the proximity to Mexico, alot of them are uninsured. When it rains, people drive even worse.

Point being I've gotten to where I can somewhat relax on the plane ride, during freefall and while under canopy...but I cannot say the same for driving in my city. I venture to say that if I lived in Waller, TX and had no reason to drive outside the town...then driving would certainly be safer.

0.02

The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.

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I think you all agree that I should try to talk myself into skydiving. If it's something I really can't handle, it's best for everyone that I don't. However I want the straight up truth rather than biased reality TV clips to base my decision on.

I would say go to your local DZ, observe, ask questions, and make your own ascertainment.

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All I'm asking is "what is a skydiver's opinion about how skydive is portrayed on TV?"

The media lost its credibility with me a long time ago, so I couldn't care less.

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Why didn't ya just open your helmet under canopy?

The problem was, once the canopy opened I was in a left turn (this seems to happen often for some reason). I downsized to a 190 from a 230 that day and had no experience on a faster canopy. I grabbed the toggles and released them to get out of the turn. At that point, I tried to grab my shield and open it, but it's (obviously) not easy to do since it puts you right back in a turn.

So, I wasn't really sure what other options I had .

I'm not sure what induced your turn and I admit I am new at jumping myself, but...you *can* turn with risers vs releasing the brakes. I usually fly with brakes set until 2,000ft.

Well I feel reassured now. I do admit this was the first bounce dream that I can recall.

The main thing about the dream that kinda got to me was that I percieved it to be real at the time. I've had skydiving dreams before but these had all the elements: percpeption through the goggles I usually wear, feel of the wind on my face and hands, the sound of the wind, the altimeter checks, and past 6K the sight of the horizon, then ground, coming up at me.

I'm probably reading into it far more than I should, although most of the skydive dreams I usually lack alot of the above elements, particularly the wind. AH well, I posted this thread on a whim. I do appreciate the responses, lol.

I raped my stapler because I'm a pimp and you're jealous.


Well I suppose it coulda been worse. lol

I was reluctant to post this on here...but it had been on my mind all day at work.

I've just recently got my license and as most new skydivers probably experience, every now and then I get dream about freefall. Well this one was pretty much routine until pull time. Exit was a solo dive out one from an Otter, stable, good, practiced turns, backloops, pretty much enjoyed finally getting to jump by myself. At pull time, I reached and there was no pilot chute, okay...instantly I left down and pull the reserve handle, nothing. I reach behind and feel open flaps and pretty much an EMPTY CONTAINER. Well...to sum up the rest I remember being alarmed and perceiving what looked like an authentic ground rush up until impact. Then I woke up.

Naturally I dismissed it being that dreams rarely make sense, and that prior to exit I would have had a gear check but, nonetheless the dream felt pretty real at the time, and that in of itself was disturbing.

....anyone ever had that kinda dream?

I hope I aint alone here..lol

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Stay single. It's easier.

yep

0:0:0

Gotta love texas weather...

AFF Level 1:

Mainside JM: Steve Coker
Reserve: John Rose

-Exit: Dearched, lots of kicking. Rolled over twice. Lost reserve-side jumpmaster.

Stablized on arch. COA - arch, 3 practice touches, first two student grabbed main JMs altimeter. COA - relax. Pull at 6,000, Good C/C, PLF landing.

Pass to Level 2. - NEED TO RELAX, ARCH, AND KEEP THE HEAD UP


...Those were the days.

As far as the title question goes, I would actually like it if any of family members did a tandem jump at the very least. Beyond that I would neither encourage nor discourage them from jumping. Just like me, its all about if that's what they really want to do. Doesn't look like it's going to happen though. Ah well.

As far as women jumping after having a kid...to each their own. If that's what they want to do I'm not going to judge them.

25

0:6:1

A License completed!

It was an eventful weekend, and earning the A license has been one hell of an endevour. All I can say for the time being is that I would like to thank EVERYONE at Skydive Houston for making this possible, the advice I recieved on here as well as at the dz, and pretty much everyone I've jumped with to date.

Looking forward to what the future has in store and meeting new people along the way.

Shit for the last 2 months its either been too windy or too overcast. Out of all the trips I've made to the dropzone I would say 50% of the time the weather was cooperative. That's Houston for ya... :/

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This is something that I started thinking about a couple weeks ago and I wanted to hear what other people thought.

I feel that with Tandem it is introducing more people to the sport. Skydiving is now in the reach of a larger audience. The only problem is that I think less and less people are wanting to go through the AFF program and would just rather do a tandem. Do you think that is one of the reasons membership is going down? It almost seems to be a double edge sword.

Let me know what you think!

I am basing this off of my own personal experience but, I fele it is helping. I made my frist tandem and immediately signed up for the AFF first jump course the following week.

In my opinion, the ones who do the tandems and nothing more...do not have the desire to get licensed anyway. I, on the other hand..wanted to know everything there was to know about skydiving. It was an instant addiction and still is. I believe that if a person has it in their heart and mind to get licensed...they will find a way to. A tandem jump is a way of testing the waters.

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I have been doing research into elite commando operations, and have this question:

Is it conceivable possible to successfully jump out of the side cockpit window of a Boeing 757

Why would one want to do that? I am not for certain which 'elite commando operations' your looking into, but to my understanding, the Force Reconnaissance Marines I knew that were HALO/HAHO certified tended to jump from aircraft that had rear-hatches and whatnot (C-130s, C-5s, etc).

Then again, I was a groundpounder..so what do I know.

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Do you guys have any advice for my first jump?

Its already been said..go to the dropzone, and ask the instructors whatever questions come to mind. The biggest fear is the fear of the unknown. Having questions answered tends to alleviate that.

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Oh, and PS- I'm afraid of heights, lol. Good way to get rid of my fear?

Well, your not alone. Take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt being a beginner myself; but I'm going to post here what I usually say to people who say they won't jump because of a 'fear of heights':

Have you rode in a plane? Ever looked out the window? Did the view bother you? Chances are...if the view you had from the airplan did not make you fearfull, chances are, the view you will get in skydiving won't either. At 14,000 feet, our minds don't accept the fact that we are up that high. With the exception of an altimeter, there is nothing to reference us being that high (no tall buildings).

During freefall, and above 5-6K, you can't perceive the ground rushing up at you. When you start AFF, you won't (or shouldn't) be looking at the ground anyway. I still get a tad nervous on jump run, but it helps focus the mind and will keep one from getting complacent.

Best advice I have: Do your tandem jump, have fun and enjoy the view. Chances are you'll be hooked like the rest of us, but if not..well, the sport isn't for everyone. Good luck.

Patience, perseverence, relaxation during stress, confidence, inspiration attention to detail, and an inner strength I can't define.