taylor.freefall

I bought a rig off this site, worked out great, just be careful of people who offer "too good to be true deals", and use common sense. Some people use a go between to make the deal such as a rigger/dropzone etc.
And look into what harness size/wing loading etc etc would suit you best for your size/weight and experience level. And good luck

I tried a couple of other dropzones but I like Perris the best, the people and staff are very welcoming and the facilities are the best I've experienced so far.

Hi ntence, sounds like you're having fun

Perris is a great place isn't it

At Perris april 08. Trying to backfly.

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Any more it seems like it. So many people come and go with 100, 200, 500 jumps that it seems like someone who is a skydiver sticks around for at least 1000 jumps. Others come and go sometimes come back then go again. I wish they would stay.

To be fair it's bloody expensive to jump continuously. What with bills, mortgage, wife etc. It's cost me an arm and a leg just to get to A license level, and for me that's all my savings gone. It's going to be another few months before I scrape enough together to get more jumps in, I'm sure it's that way for a lot of people.

I'm having three small tattoos on my hands removed. I've had two sessions now and they're definitely lighter and a couple of small spots
have been removed altogether. I imagine it will take somewhere between six and ten sessions to be completely removed. Also black ink is the easiest to remove, light colors are the worst as they reflect the lazer more. Also it hurts like a bastard, I decided not to bother with the numbing cream last time as I didn't want to wait half an hour but I'll never do that again. Spitting fat and a snapping rubbing band are all right x 10. It costs $100 a session and that's for all three tattoos. Hope that helps.

Look for second hand jump suit, sometimes there's some REALLY cheap ones come up in the classifieds section, just need to be quick on it, maybe that way you can get both? Or you could just get the pants and wear your own top?

I don't need second chances as I'm perfect

I'm going to stick up for Henry as I can't help but think "the customer is always right". The way I see it is that he should have been treated with
respect and politeness whatever - surely his situation is understandable after a cut away? Even more so for a beginner? And the comment "we were glad to see the back of you" and "learn some social skills"?? Indeed is it not this person who needs to learn those social skills? And throw some customer service in there as well. Pot, kettle and black.

What page?

Yeah nice one Pat, just reading about you now, how cool

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Hey I am brand new to this forum also. I have not been to any DZ's in San Diego yet. I just did my first tandem in Hawaii a couple weeks ago and now I want more!

AH HA!! That's how I got started, tandemed at Hawaii Sept last year.

I've heard nothing but good things about that place, I'm going to jump there one day.
I too jump alone, EVERYBODY I know thinks it's stupid.
I jump at Perris and recommend it, not met a bad person yet. It's cool going alone because people involve you and there's often other people alone who are willing to jump with a newbie.
Hey good luck with the AFF and let us know how it goes.

Hi Toastie, what DZ you at?

Hey that's cool, I just got my A license as well although I started back in
Oct '07, and just got my own rig, a 230 sabre 2. Not jumping so much at the minute because I'm skint! But that's skydiving for you

Me too, I have to turn over or look away. If there's one thing that pisses me off it's animal cruelty

Enjoyed the pics, the wife and I were there last September - could do with another week there right now.

I'm only a beginner myself so I'm not really in a position to give you advice but I was just wondering how many jumps you have etc? I'm a little over 200lbs - about 240ish out the door - getting heavier ever week - (quit smoking not so long ago) and I have a Sabre 2, 230. People at my dz have asked why such a big canopy but let me tell you that thing feels fast to me! Anyway I'm happy with my big canopy and that's all that matters. It would probably be a good idea to do a search and look around previous posts, research wing loading as well and generally try to educate yourself about things. Anyway good luck with it.

I didn't bother reading through all the posts but what's to think about?

hahahahahaha me too, I ordered freefly pants, months ago, after numerous calls and emails were ignored they eventually arrived - the wrong size. The most terrible customer service I've experienced.

My wife has made her own "parking tickets" and tickets "offenders" all the time.
Edit - and that silk thing on the head is a doo rag.

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Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but if I see something that will benefit someone I just tell them about it. I don't expect or even want to be paid for something that costs me nothing more than a few minutes of my time. Would you guys charge a newbie to change a closing loop or explain where to expect turbulence in the landing area?

I don't expect people to do everything for free, mind you. I charge $45 to do a reserve I&R (including any minor repairs), for example, but this DZO was asking the equivalent of four I&Rs just for the few minutes he spent online. He wasn't even going to pay for shipping. Seems like a pretty outrageous hourly rate, not to mention a pretty large finder's fee on a $1,500 sale.

As for the comparison to selling things on commission or consignment or something, in that case there are expenses and risks involved, not to mention paperwork and taxes. In this case the DZO had almost none of that: he was certain that he had a customer.

I'm not a saint or a communist. I believe in Free Enterprise and making a fair wage. But a lot of good people donated a few minutes here and there bringing me into the sport. When I get the chance to pass that on it makes me feel better than anything that a few bucks could buy me.

I agree. As if life's not hard enough that you can't help someone out. The DZO, in the long run, would have probably got a lifetime customer and a good reputation through word of mouth had he helped that new kid out. It could be argued that it would have made better business sense to do it as a favor. Either way IMO it still seems a bit tight arsed.

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How long did it take you guys to learn to pack? I'm working on my A license, and I finally have my own gear. I have tried to pack it with assistance probably 10 times. I can never get it finished on my own, and to be honest if I work on it completely alone I don't even come close. I just spent an hour and a half on my floor wrestling the goddamn thing, and I didn't even get it into the bag..

My main problems:
1) I can't seem to figure out WHAT I'm looking at when I'm staring down in there. I can usually find the A lines and B lines, but the real problems start when I try to flake between C and D lines.. I eventually get it flaked, but have no idea if I ever got the D lines centered, or the material to the outside. I really have a hard time telling what I'm looking at in there, with all the lines, the material and the slider.

2) When I cocoon the canopy I can't get it slim enough to fit in the d-bag without screwing up the lines and pulling the tail off the slider. Whenever I try to tuck the edges underneath the canopy and make it slimmer it poofs back out on the sides when I lay down on it to push out the air.

3) The S-folds just turn into a fat wad of canopy that has no chance of fitting into the bag..

So how long did it take you to become proficient at packing? I've seen pack like a PRO, I have a 40 minute video from PD on my computer that goes step by step packing a sabre 170, and I've had people go through it with me at the DZ. I'm getting frustrated. Any tips?

I'm in exactly the same same position as you. I was reading about reverse s folds, or something like that, to get it in the bag easier. If you do a search something should pop up. I wish I had something to suggest but I'm clueless as well. Good luck with it anyway and keep practicing I guess. Oh one thing - I use a hook to practice rather than put it over my shoulder, that might help a bit at first if (like me) you take a long time with it and find yourself getting tired.

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Hey I am thinking about changing careers. Anybody out there a truck driver. I would like to discuss the pros and cons of the profession.

Thanks

Shit and don't bother, you'll not be at home much and work a zillion hours. Like the person said above it's a single bloke's game. Besides traffic these days is so bad it just makes it a pain in the arse.
Become an electrician or a plumber etc.