fruitmedley

I don't know if I'm in the right category, but if not then I'm sure "Big Brother" will move it! Anyways, my question is: does anyone REALLY know where that quote came from that we see everywhere in skydiving mags and stuff that says (in essence) "Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with eyes skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return"? (I don't know the EXACT wording, I've seen it a few different ways). Some say it came from da Vinci, but I've read alot of his writing and I've looked through his complete notebooks (translated, of course) and serached online but can't find it anywhere. Anyone have anything solid on this? I would like to find the original Latin if it does in fact come from DV. Fruit JUMP NUMBERS DON'T MEAN S!#T!!!!!!

Ok, let's break it down: -Transportation, lodging, and food for the weekend...$350-$400 (I don't own a car, I ride a bike, I like the environment) -Time it takes to drive to the tunnel (if I can find someone who happens to be going that way)...10+ hrs -1 hour in the tunnel (let's make it worth it for 10 hr drive, shall we?) with a coach...$750 MINIMUM -Plus I have to request a pass from work...fat chance. OR THE ALTERNATIVE: use the money I saved up to learn to skydive doing actually that...skydiving. So far I've spent (excluding gear purchases) roughly 3 grand. That's two trips to the tunnel. For that same 3k I've got about 2 hours of freefall...the same amount I would have got in the tunnel, right? (not to mention 3-4 minutes under canopy per jump...roughly 10 hours total) But there are some things money will never buy: I would NEVER take those two hours of tunnel time in trade for the experiences I have had in the past 6 weeks...the silliness on the rides to altitude, telling the pilot to do a trick and getting zero g's, the rush of the real wind in my face, looking around and actually seeing the ground and the sky and the clouds, making friends I will have for the rest of my life, my awesome boyfriend who I never would have met otherwise, laughing, drinking, debating, discussing, learning, falling down and getting back up again, messing up, succeeding, accumulating HOURS under canopy that a tunnel can't give you, a pack job under my belt for every jump, the whole picture, really. I would give up neither my last 125 jumps nor my next 125 for those priceless memories. I am in NO WAY bagging on or downplaying tunnel time..don't get me wrong. I am well aware of it's benefits to beginners and experts alike. I would JUMP (no pun intended) at the chance to get in one...but not everyone has the resources to do both. I believe there is plenty one can learn without it...after all...they started parachuting long before they invented wind tunnels!!! One day I will experience the tunnel and reap the benefits of it, but until then...blue skies!!! JUMP NUMBERS DON'T MEAN S!#T!!!!!!

I do only have 125 jumps, but they are all over the past 6 weeks and over 80 of them are freefly jumps, so my progress has been pretty steady. It's hard to get tunnel time because I have to travel and it's WAY out of my price range. I just try to be as productive as possible on every jump. ps, I'm a she! by the way thanks everyone for the advice so far...and thanks for taking your time out to post responses to my q's! JUMP NUMBERS DON'T MEAN S!#T!!!!!!

What steps can I take on my own to start the transition to head-down? I don't want to develop any bad habits early, but I want to be prepared when I start asking for serious coaching from more advanced flyers. My sit is solid, controlled, and I'm able to stay relative to others. I have taken head-down exits with others and held them for a thousand feet or so but as soon as they let go I bounce out of it. JUMP NUMBERS DON'T MEAN S!#T!!!!!!

Hey! I'm still new to the discipline, and I'm still learning as well, so my advice is in no way expert. But I have had some amazing freeflyers give me awesome coaching so I'll do my best to pass it on: that was my exact body position when I started to learn how to sitfly. It was natural to draw my knees up to adapt to the new and seemingly unnatural position of butt-to-earth, which in turn caused me to lean forward and push my arms back. Consciously pushing your feet flat and downward is the first step...if you do that, your upper body position will be easier to rectify. If you push your legs down without leaning back you'll keep corking out into a back flip...that'll stop when you keep a strong upper body. When your position is correct you will feel the wind on the back of your thighs, the bottom of your feet, and under your arms. When it clicked for me I felt like I was sitting in one of those old, really square wooden chairs. Do you spin alot? That was a problem for me as well...try toe taps, much like the ones you did as a student on your belly...and look at your knees in your peripheral vision, they should be the same height...that helped me alot, too. I hope it helps a little...post us pics of your progress! Have alot of fun! -fruit JUMP NUMBERS DON'T MEAN S!#T!!!!!!