matthias

I admit I talked about it with friends, family and co-workers during my first few weeks but after a while I quit as I got the standard whuffo attitude that comes from ignorance and fear of the unknown. Any anyone comes to me with any questions I feel qualified to answer I'll do my best to either answer them or direct them to websites or the DZ's phone number to point them in the right direction. It'd be great if I could talk a few family members and friends into trying a tandem or enrolling in AFF but I know full well its only a decision they can make for themselves as it was for me. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

I'm new to the sport but so far, many of the jumpers and instructors I have met at my local dz have a hell of alot more integrity and trustworthiness than the rest of society. With me, trust and respect still have to be earned regardless of occupation, experience, and rank. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

I've been having a hell of a time as I'm in the broke-ass AFF student catagory that's lucky to get to jump around the 1st and the 15th, and I have this issue with adrenaline management (getting all wired up before exits). Anyways so here it is: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1251888045&n=2 Shot at Skydive Houston on Oct 1, 2006 also starring JMs Phil Myers and Larry. Instructors review of the dive can be viewed in the live journal link below. Main thing is the relaxing part and not being too tense in freefall, other than that I'm not certain what was inducing the left turn. Any feedback, criticsm, completely welcome. Go easy :) Still getting used to this. thanks in advance, Matt _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Only myself I guess...unless the voices in my head are other people.

Shit man, at least you got an A license. I'm having a hell of a time affording AFF and getting the bills paid. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Even after 12 jumps....I'm still waiting for that one to occur. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Welcome bro. I'm current doing AFF at SDH and more than likely your see me there on the weekends surrounding the 1st and the 15. As Im on student status, the only guys I;ll be jumping with are gonna be jumpasters, and until I can somehow go limp in freefall, level 3's gonna be a milestone to get past. As far as tips go, I'd say pretty much any of the instructors and coaches at SDH can answer anything you need to know. Conragts on getting licensed _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

This is my 0.02, I plan to be in the sport in a while so I'm preapred for the fact something 'may' happen out of my control. -The only two things in life we are completely certain about, is that there was a day we were born, and will be a day that we die. No one lives forever. If such a tragedy would ever to occur, I could only hope others who knew me would understand this is the way I woulda have preferred to go out. If my destiny is to go out at 80-90+ years old deteriorating in a nursing home, y that point I would only be content knowing that I made the most of out life, maybe be remembered for it, and know that never let anything pass me by. I apologize for any negativity in the above. Just my personal feelings over the subject. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

My condolences to friends and family. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Read these so far, pretty good: -Dan Poynter & Dan Turoff - The Skydiver's Handbook -Tom Buchanon - JUMP! -John Derosalia - Mental Training for Skydiving and Life The third one I would recommend everyone read even if they weren't skydivers. Very motivational as well as informative. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

I did this on AFF L1. The radio malfunctioned and I had to rely on what I remembered from the AFF course (a week prior) and my instincts from playing microsoft flight simulator growing up. There was too much wind so I thought to setup the final approach running alongside the runway (no obsticals). I was looking at the ground and flared 10-15 feet higher than I should have...then suddenly the radio worked again "NO NOT YET!!!!!!!!" My 'oh fuck' reaction had me dropping both toggles (was still in overload from the freefall Im guessing) the canopy stalled, dived and making a landing similar if I did a running jump from a garage roof on a grassy area. It if werent for the grass, I probably would broken something. Needless to say it scared the shit out of me and my instructor "Matt raise your hand if you are concious, stand up if you are able to." I stood up...dazed... "He's fine." _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Goddamn...and I thought I had it bad. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Being new to the suppose I fortunately haven't seen anyone burn-in. I hope..such an incident never occurs. I have, however seen buddies of mine get waxed right in front of me. This is a good way to describe it. I know the feeling all to well. Depending on the circumstance and your relation to the person, probably not. In my case..I'd rather not discuss it. In my case, we have a few support groups at the VA for those really served in Aghanistan and Iraq. Just being able to have someone you can talk to who can relate is helpful, because most who haven't been in such a situation will never understand. In regards to your subject, all you can do is remember one for how they lived rather than how they went out, be there for there family and friends, and if it was my loss, hope my family and friends would do the same for me. Otherwise, coping is just a day by day process. Life moves on, some things you never get over but remaining positive not getting too down over it is the main thing. Just my 0.02, hope I said something that was of help. Matt Being new to the suppose I fortunately haven't seen anyone burn-in. However, I have wit _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

I would agree. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

More like a LONG canopy ride. Incredible view though. Being under canopy with the clouds still about a mile below me was something else... _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Hi Michele, I fully believe that the instructor acted in both his and mine interests. To retract my former reply: I understand now..no, it is not a reasonable request in the interests of safety, I'll concede to that. I would have liked to have seen if I was able to stabilize myself, but with the risk of either going unconcious from the violent tumble or inadvertantly striking the instructor, I believe he did the right thing. I wish to underscore that never once in my AFF training have I questioned the judgment of any instructors. I am not sure how AFF exits from a twin otter differ. But its right foot forward, toes of right foot pointed slightly out the door, left foot back. hands on door, back straight, head outside of the door. Hotel check. "Prop" (head up) "up, down, ARCH." Step out with left, right stays in place, arch to relative wind. Best I can describe it. My reasoning wasn't necessarily 'waiting while out of control'. I more or les smeant more time to attempt to regain stability by arching...mainly to see if I COULD regain stability. As a student I'm new to this. I've never tumbled out of control like that. I've flipped on earlier jumps on exit, always recovered and was stable for the rest of the skydive. I couldn't regain stability after 5 seconds which is why he pulled; also because of the way I was tumbling. Fair enough. :) Again..I'm only a student, and I've never questioned the judgment of my instructors. I do wish to again thank everyone who replied regarding the 'kicking on exit' issue.I will keep the insights in mind this weekend and hopefully we'll see better exits. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

This was the logbook entries for saturday: AFF 3: -OK count, kicking on exit -COA -2 PRCPs -COA -gave arch signal and nice response -jumpasters released - nice hover, had ver slow drift left -wave off and pull at 6K -good canopy control and standup landing -cleared to AFF IV AFF 4: -OK count, kicking on exit -dropped knees and tumbled -jumpmaster pulled @ 11K -great canopy control, standup landing Phil Myers D-16533 _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Twin Otter. Haha, nice way of putting that. Sounds like a plan. I've been seriously considering it. I just have to figure out which one is the cheapest for booking a flight to and take some time off work. I have no doubt that I would greatly benefit from 10-15 minutes in one. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

I've only made 10 jumps, so take the following with a grain of salt. From what others have said and my own personal experience thus far...skydiving and rollercoasters have nothing in common with the exception of them being an adrenaline rush. Your freefall at 120mph but do not feel like it because once you reach terminal velocity (120mph) you are no longer accelerating. What you feel on rollercoasters is that 'forced' acceleration, for lack of a better term. "What the hell did Brittany get me into? .. What the hell did I get myself into??" (jk) I honestly couldn't recall that plane ride too much. I would assume its the same exact feeling I get every single time they open the door to this day. Between the whoosh of the door opening at altitude and the sound of the plane engine firing up I'm sure sure what gets my heart racing more. As far as my first door exit? CHeck the below attachment. That would be me going: "Oh shit!!!!" It was great. Doing a tandem jump is the safest way to experience a skydive. The best way (in my opinion) to learn the sport, is to take an AFF first jump course. The 'right way' is all up to what you feel comfortable doing. If you are unsure if skydiving is for you, you might consider doing a tandem first. This is how many get introduced to the sport I may add. There is that chance but I personally have never come close to feeling that way. What you WILL experience is 'sensory overload' While you may not miss out on anything, you may find it hard to remember what the hell just happened ;) This isnt a sales pitch, but I recommend getting the video to go along with it. Dude, its cool. Having alot of questions is a very common thing for someone about to try new things. You might also go to www.skydivingmovies.com and download a few tandem and AFF videos from there to get a better idea. When you get to the dropzone, the instructors will be more than happy to answer anything that's on your mind. Relax! Have fun. Look around at the surroundings and check out the view. I hope this helps, let us know how it goes. blue skies, Matt _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Nah, unfortunately I was one of those indoor types that played computer games. I'd imagine they (sports) would help with being legs aware. I appreciate the answers and PMs recieved so far, keep em coming. Thanks again. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Before your reply I was thinking the same thing and the next time I attempt it I was going to request (if its a reasonable one in the interests of safety) that if I were to go unstable to NOT pull unless nearing 6K. If I could speculate, he may have pulled because the violent tumbling was beyond both of our control. He attempted several times to get me belly down to get a good arch executed but nothing was successful. Without video, its hard to say WHY he decided to pull for me at 11K. ALl I remember was that I have never been in a situation like that before and I was surprised the canopy didnt malfunction on opening. Of course..if it did, I had more than enough altitude to implement emergency procedures. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

damn...because of tumbling after a shitty exit and the JM pulling for me at 11K...I didn't get a free AFF level 4 retry + video. Woulda been nice... but hey..canopy rides from 11K get ya one hell of a view and more time to mess around with spiral turns I suppose. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

So far I have done 7 AFF jumps, passed level 3 on the 3rd attempt, tried level 4 yesterday (which requires 1 JM) The jump was a total disaster. Immediately after the exit we tumbled out of control on all axis. Tried to arch but in the confusion couldn't regain control, instructor pulled my pc at 11,500ft. Well...the 11 minute canopy ride was nice...great view, but that's beside the point. This 'kicking on exit' issue has been a consistent one. For the record I am 6'4". 180lbs, with rather long legs. I am not sure if this is relavent but I do know that the kicking is more of an involuntary reaction shortly after exit which lasts anywhere up to 3 seconds after leaving the step. I had gotten to the point where I could prevent flipping and from the the diveflow seems to be okay. However, I would like to rectify this issue as quickly as I can as I feel at the moment it is my greatest hinderance, as the exit will make or break the skydive. If anyone has had similar problems and overcame them, or if any AFF instructors have any tips to correct either through mental drills or at-home practice, or anyway to bring about a solution I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Was in the USMC from 99 - 03. Wanted to go to jump school, but didn't happen due to broken feet at the time. Started skydiving/AFF 2 months ago. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com

Yeah after 8 jumps it's pretty much consumed my soul. Putting AFF on the credit cards wasn't a bright idea, and Im sure the gear purchase will send me into chapter 11. Its all good. _________________________________________ trance/house mixes for download: www.djmattm.com