FallingDuck

How many jumps is too many on an old rig? Assume that it has been taken care of, packed indoors and all.

My tandem was scary because I didn't know what was going on. Now my biggest fear is that something will happen to the plane on the way up, which is why I won't get back into that thing. The lack of control would drive me crazy.

Nice, looks like you had some nice weather.

I've been at some DZ that rent $75 all day, which sucks if you only get one jump. And others that range from $5 to $25 per jump, it all depends on where you jump and if you have the option to go somewhere ells. Usually the rental is included in the AFF price though.

My girlfriend gets a little scared when I jump, after hanging out at the DZ she feels a little better and is thinking about jumping herself. Other than getting your husband there just tell him that once you get your own gear its $20+ - a jump and less on the 4th of July.

Either right before the sun gets too hot, or rite when it starts too cool down in the summer. And then there is always the blue sky winter days, as long as its above 20 degrees at altitude.

Ever since I started jumping I have run into people that say they skydive. At first I think cool someone to talk too. Then as they talk it becomes clear that they have never been in a jump plane. This is a little thing I don't care about. What gets me is when I come around a corner at school and find one guy talking to about ten girls about all the "wicked" things he has done skydiving. And worst of all when I catch them taking credit for running MY club. I just love to shut them down in front of their adoring public. Dose this happen to anyone ells, or is it just me?

I've been asked more times than I can count "how do you find your landing area." I tell them "we have radio beacons in our helmets of course. "

4 months after my 18th b-day.

We where the helmets because that is the most vulnerable part of our body in freefall. The hands and feet move and the chance of getting kicked in the gut are low unless you are freeflying. armor would just get in the way.

For your first freefall it will feel windy. That is about it. You will be scared, for most of the people I have talked to about their first jump this is all they remember. good luck.

It doesn't matter what side of the rain drop you hit, at a high speed it will always hurt. Think standing in a high wind rain storm

All you should have to do is a recurrency jump. Once they know that you won't kill yourself they should let you jump as much as you want.

My problem is that the wind is strong until I get onto final and then the wind dies out so I always end up going long. I would love to have a no wind day.

My coach had to wear a 30 lb belt to keep up with me when I started. Once you learn to control your fall rate it won't be a factor, but it will be a trick you can pull out when you need it. Blu Skies

If people on your load are in the landing area you should be able to avoid them. Everywhere I jump the landing area is for landing only. A spectator can go out into it once everyone on the load is down. Any dirt diving should be done someplace ells.

It was something that I always wanted to do. And when I turned 18 I went for it and loved it.

An audible will work for him, but a visual is something that 90% of us use. And as far as I know you are not wrong. As long as you do a quick wave off before you pull another jumper shouldn't have a problem with it. If someone not with you is close enough to be hurt by an early opening they are following you too quickly out the door.

The thing of it is that your body is smarter than your brain. Its your body saying "this isn't smart". Your brain is the one saying "yea, but its fun". The more you jump the more quiet your body will become. When you don't hear it anymore, thats when you should worry.

The tunnel time would be good for the freefall, but on the first aff all you do is fly flat. You might want to hold off till you have skills to practice. If you want to get into the rite mindset for jumping a tandem would get most of the anxiety out of you, and you could practice pulling and flying the canopy, which was the hardest part of AFF 1 for me.

The generalization dose bother me a bit, however there is the fact that we jump out of plains. I don't think that there is a single reason or factor, but we all share a less then standard fear of heights, or falling or something. Personally I get more scared putting the Christmas lights on my house then jumping. Everybody fears death, we just fear a falling death a little less then the average person.

An AAD is a backup device, just in case. As long as you keep up on all your procedures and know your rig then you shouldn't need one. However the more you jump the more you'll want to jump. Have a good one.

My dz has a 16yo packing the tandems, so I wouldn't have any problems if she packed my rig.

I can't speak for the things that are specific to the state or county, but most everything on that list is SOP at every dz I have been to or heard of.

Low turns are fatal because people are doing 180 degree turns 100 feet off the ground. I usually turn onto final between 150 and 200 feet. But that is a 90 degree turn. If you find that you are going long put a few s turns into it, but make sure that is ok at your dz.