angrypeppers

Awesome show! The one at the Stanley Hotel here in CO freaked me. They had video of a door opening and closing itself in one of the rooms. And a glass that shattered on a nightstand too. Scary stuff. Then they went down in to a basement, and caught audio of a little girl saying "Hello, hello" then giggling. I'm getting chickenskin just thinking about it! Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Hey chaos, I'll put in a couple of jumps for you, and you can enjoy some nice fresh seafood for me! Or, just dip your toes in the water at Hampton Beach. I learned to surf there, and miss NH like you wouldn't believe. Chris Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

You'll get there! I was worried about the weather too, but only had to reschedule once or twice for my entire AFF. Good luck, and welcome to the forums. Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Congratulations, Tom. I'll look for you next time I'm up there...now that I know who you are! Chris Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Yep, damn, I didn't know that was you! I gave her my email address so she could send the pics to me once they are scanned. I think I was second from the end. Congrats to you! It was a pretty good day for Level 7's! Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

I voted for #3, 'cuz I like the biohazard symbol. I like the "hammer" look on #5 too. Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Congrats on passing your Levels! I got on my back on both my 5 and 6 jumps too. Nice job on recovering quickly. Levels 6 and 7 were the most fun. Back flips were easier than I thought they would be. I did my front flips on the exit. Too much fun! You should be good to go with barrel rolls. Good luck with the rest of your jumps... Part of the reason I've been writing up my jumps here is so that I can go back and read them later. I put much of the same info in my logbook too. Write in as much detail as you can: People on the load, conditions, rig info, good / bad things about the jump, etc. Some day when you have 1000's of jumps, it will be fun to go back and read about your student jumps! Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Woohoo! Congrats to you... Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

I woke up this morning, happy that Level 6 was out of the way, and looking forward to catching up on things I put off during the week: cutting what's left of the grass and leaves on the lawn, changing the oil in my truck, shopping for a new car to replace said truck, etc. I went out for breakfast with some friends, and headed home. I decided to call my jump buddy to see when she could do Level 7 next weekend. "I'm heading up to Longmont right now..." was the answer. Crap! She decided to head up there to hang out and check to see if she could get on a load, and said I should head up there too. I wasn't really thinking about jumping until that moment. But I found myself gathering up my gear, picking up a flyer for a car I wanted to look at, and heading out the door. She said she'd call from the DZ, that would give me time to look at the car, while she verified that we could get on a load. Sure enough, she called back and said that we should be able to get on a load. I was at the dealer's lot, and had already looked at the car (nice!), and besides, I really didn't feel much like doing house stuff. The weather was perfect for jumping, and after yesterday's Level 6, I kinda just wanted to ride that wave and get Level 7 finished too. So I found myself driving up to Mile Hi. I called them to verify I could get on a load, but I was already half way there. Even if I didn't jump, I could watch Kristen's jump, right? Actually, I was really stoked about doing my Level 7. I arrived at the DZ, checked in, and found Kristen talking to Trae, another AFF classmate who was doing his Level 6. Since we hadn't scheduled our jump, we had to wait a while, but eventually, our instructors found us, and we did the briefing and dive flow review. That went well as usual. We were assigned to Otter 8, which was still about 40 minutes away. Time to hang out, and get even more nervous! Kristen and I were both assigned to instructors we hadn't jumped with, which added a bit to our self-induced tension, but it was non-event in the end. I kinda like flying with different instructors. Everyone has their own little differences in how they do things, and for a student like me, that's good info to have. The plane ride was great. I don't know why, but I was less nervous and stressed about this jump than my previous ones. I think that was due to my instructor...he helped me feel at ease, and stressed that I should have fun on this jump. We'd be doing front flips, figure 8's (360s in each direction), and tracking. I had asked if I could do my flip on exit, and he was cool with that. This would be fun! Before long, the plane was at altitude, and folks started leaving. When it was my turn, we hung out and spotted for a few seconds, then it was time to go. The front flips were fun! I did two of them, then got stable. Billy caught up to me, I did the COA, the 360's, and the tracking. Holy shit that was fun! We still had some altitude, so Billy flew over to me, we docked for a second or two, then it was time to pull. Billy had this huge grin on his face! I think I did too! The chute opened up fine, and I did my checks. I was hanging out, just doing some turns and stuff, trying to stay near the landing area. Eventually, I got down to pattern altitude, but started getting off course. I tried to correct it, but my sloppiness bit me. I landed short, but safely. Damn, that's not what I wanted to do on this jump! I packed up, and headed off to the trailer. Where's Kristen? Turns out, they had to go around before she could jump...second time in a row that happened! I watched her land, excellent as usual. Once back at the hangar, we debriefed, and I got my logbook signed off: "Enjoy the ride, passed Level 7"! Since it was late in the day, I didn't get to do another jump, but that wasn't a big deal. I passed! What made this jump extra fun was that there were three Level 7's on our load, and we were all in the same AFF class back in September. All of us passed too, which is nice. So, while AFF is finished, the learning is about to begin. I know what I need to work on in the next jumps, but I feel a huge sense of accomplishment too! I've been on a cloud since I got on the ground. Too bad I have to wait till the weekend to jump again. Thanks to everyone at Mile Hi...I couldn't be happier with the instructors I flew with (and DJan for the ground school!). I know I'm just a newb, but I feel like I have a great foundation to build upon. Stay safe... Chris Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

0:2:1 Passed Level 6 yesterday and 7 today. Beer is for finishing my AFF! No solo jumps, Level 7 was too late in the afternoon today. I don't care how cold it is next weekend, I'm going to do some jumps! Chris Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Beer! Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

I passed Level 6 today. Another beautiful fall day to jump. Temp was in the mid-50's, little wind, lots of visibility. Today, we were back in the Otter after a bunch of King Air jumps, so that would be fun. I arrived with plenty of time to spare, so I sat around and studied the SIM for a while. Before long, my jump buddy showed up, and we checked in. Looks like there'd be a little bit of a wait. Not much later, Aaron grabbed us to do the briefing. That went well, then we practiced EP's a few times in the bibs. All's well, and we're ready to get going. We ended up sitting around through a couple of loads. That was a bit nerve-racking! The whole concept of getting unstable intentionally made me tense up a bit. I'd never done backflips or barrel rolls (intentionally, at least), so I was a bit nervous about that. Oh, and we'd be doing a diving exit, which was also new to me. Looked like fun! After a while, my instructor showed up and we reviewed the dive flow. Shouldn't be too bad: spotting from the door, diving exit, COA, barrel rolls, back flip, tracking, with lots of altitude checks in between, then wave off/pull at 5500'. We practiced the exits, then got geared up. Before long, our load was called, and we were off to the trailer. It's strange how I'm getting less nervous about the jumps as I go on. I still get that twinge in my gut at times, but overall, I'm pretty good...until the door opens up. But a couple of deep breaths, and that's usually OK too. Chewing gum helps me too, but I need to stop that habit! The plane ride was OK. We'd be second to last out, my jump buddy was bringing up the rear. We dumped a couple of hop & pops on the way up, but otherwise, the flight up went fine. Nice having a little extra room in the Otter! Finally, we got up top, and the door popped open. That blast of cold air jolted me a bit...isn't summer here yet? The guys in front of us got out, and we hung out in the door spotting. The airport was easy to find; time to go! I think I rushed the exit a little, and flailed around some, but I was able to get stable. COA, then the barrel roll. That went OK, but I want to practice them a bit more. Altitude is still good. Time to backflip. Any time now. Time...to...backflip. I hestitated a bit, took a breath, and flipped over. That was fun! Not perfect, but not bad either. Altitude is OK, but getting close, so I only tracked for about a second or so. I'm still a little paranoid about pull time. Wave off and pull went well, no problems with the chute. I love seeing that thing over my head! I took a couple of deep breaths, did my checks, and headed back to the landing area. Crap! I forgot to spit out my gum before the dive. No more gum on the plane for me. I felt a lot better under the 260 this time than last. I did some riser turns, flat turns, and set up for my pattern. We'd be landing to the south, and I wanted to get near the peas this time...need to start thinking more about accuracy, rather than just getting back on the ground. I was still a little high on base, so I did some slight s-turns to lose altitude. I landed pretty much where I wanted: just southwest of the peas. Did my usual step and stumble, but I was down safely. Once back at the hangar, I dropped off the rig in the hangar, and we debriefed. Exit was OK, but I got out a little quickly. The instructor had to dive after me! I kicked my legs a bit too, which I don't normally do. Barrel rolls were OK, the back flip was better, and I should have tracked a bit longer. Altitude awareness was good, but I pulled while in a slight turn. Didn't seem to me like I was turning, so I'll have to check that on my next jump. Canopy control and landing were good too. Here's the logbook entry I like best: "...excellent Level 6. Good for Level 7." Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

I voted for the STI. I'm about to sell my highly modified F350 and will probably get a lightly used Legacy GT (Turbo 2.5 4 cyl.) or Outback with the 3.0 H6. Both have about 250 hp in a nicely designed, all wheel drive wagon. Either one will be a little over $20k for a 2005/2006 model. Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

I test airline and military flight planning systems for a Boeing-owned company. Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

"The instructors in the tunnel are very nice, but they are non skydivers." Most, if not all, tunnel instructors in Denver are skydivers and/or AFFI's...I've flown with two of them on my AFF jumps. Maybe we are just lucky! Chris Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

or some tats! Welcome to the forums... Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Robyn, I wouldn't wait till you had $5000. I just passed AFF Level 5, and am paying as I go. I couldn't/didn't want to wait to get started. I'm still saving for gear, but that's separate (for me) from my jump money. I'll probably end up buying my gear piecemeal, but not till I know what canopy I'll be on. That way, it's not such a shock to the checking account. I started my AFF on 24 September, 2006, and will be doing Level 6 this weekend. I've been cancelled a few times for weather, but try to schedule myself one Level per weekend. Works for me! Good luck, and welcome to the forums. Let us know how things go with AFF! Chris Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Beat me to it! Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Click on the Dropzones link at the top. Looks like there's three DZ's listed in AR...maybe one is closer to you? Welcome to the forums, BTW. Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

I will go one step further. I like the idea of different colors for the cutaway and reserve, but when I order my own rig, I will order a d-ring for the reserve. I like the idea of different shapes. My thinking is that when something happens, I want to be able to tell what I'm grabbing by feel since I may not be able to look to see what I'm grabbing. Yeah, I know the pillows face different directions, but there's no mistaking a d-ring for a pillow. Maybe it's just because I'm still new at this. If you look at the throttle quadrant on piston airplanes, the throttle/mixture/prop controls are not only different colors, but different shapes as well. There's a reason for that! BTW, like Allison said, white ain't going to stay white for very long! Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Congrats on the A! Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

My vote is to sell the Saratoga, buy a couple of C-182's and get jumping. If/when you have the bucks, then think turbine. I do like the bake sale idea though. And get some ponies so LMWB will show up. Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Here's a few of my favorites: Ace of Spades - Motorhead Don't Drag Me Down - Social Distortion Soldiers of the Wastelands - Dragonforce Sad Statue - System of a Down On a Rope - Rocket From The Crypt Hysteria - Muse Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Nice job, Gato! The deep breathing helps me too. So does a piece of gum on the ride up. I think the dry mouth was contributing to my nervousness. I also try to keep my mind occupied during the plane ride: checking altitudes, visualizing the dive, asking myself "what ifs". If I don't keep my brain busy, I start to tense up and get nervous, and then my version of "fuck fuck fuck..." starts in. Cheers! Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.

Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me.