Jaker

Wow, I asked nearly the same question in nearly the same way just after my tandem jump. Your schedule is definitely tighter than mine, I just have lots of hobbies. I start AFF in two weeks.

Crash huh? That seems like an ominous nickname for a skydiver! lol The night before I did my tandem I was pretty nervous, but Ireally had no idea what to expect. It was the couple of weeks AFTER that I really couldn't sleep. I kept dreaming of falling through a blue sky. It would actually wake me from a dead sleep!

Hi Gail. I'll be the guy smiling nervously and making multiple trips to the restroom. Looking forward to meeting you in person!

Land it? I'll be happy getting to the ground all in one piece! Does that count as landing? Though I have to say, the landing is the part I'm the most nervous about!

I totally agree. I also shouldn't be reading these forums everyday. But I'm not your average bear. The biggest thing I've learned thus far is that I don't know anything, and I completely acknowledge that. When I start my class in three weeks, i'll be nothing but putty waiting to be molded by the capable hands of my instructors.

These forums have provided me hours and hours of entertainment in the two months since I did my Tandem jump, not to mention some encouragement and advice. Thanks everybody! I decided to move forward with AFF, and I booked my first class for January 12th in Deland. It was a busy day out there, and I hung out on the patio and watched several loads come down before actually heading inside to make my reservation. It's kinda funny, but I was really nervous walking inside! lol Had a big perma-grin by the time i walked back out though! I would say I'm about exactly equal parts nervous and excited. If you'll permit an analogy... I don't do roller coasters, but I imagine it to be like a tandem. It's scary and exciting, but all you really have to do is hold on and scream a lot. Now you have to steer the car, avoid the tracks that lead to the pit of doom, and somehow get the damn thing stopped. All the same, I can't wait!

Hmm. I've watched about a million AFF and other skydiving videos while getting financing together for the class. I think maybe what the OP liked was the fact that it showed a more than the normal amount of ground training, then the jump itself, and the landing. I really like SDM, but my computer at work is pretty locked down and I can only watch wmv files. Not SDM's fault, damn corporate America.

Wow BIGUN. Best reply I have ever seen in regards to this question, hands down. Nice work.

OK. I've completed one measly tandem jump thus far, so maybe i'm a wuffo myslef... Admittedly, most of these are pretty damn ridiculous! However, I can understand how someone could assume that you actually fly upward when the chute is deployed if all they had watched were videos. Hell, it FELT like i was shooting up into the air as well! (Though I of course knew that I wasn't!) Gotta love the pointy end of the raindrops though!

Oh, don't tempt me! It FINALLY started cooling off a little this week, and this northern transplant is dying for some fall weather! Never thought I would say that gain!

Ya know, I think you're right. And to clarify, I certainly didn't see anything I DIDN'T like at Deland, but it's hard to know with nothing to compare to. I actually talked to a few people while I was hanging out waiting for the coveted dvd, and everyone seemed approachable and friendly. What I think most people forget over time, is that the more "exclusive" a group of people seem from the outside, the harder they can be for outsiders to approach. To those of you who have forgoten, skydiving is still a pretty damn niche activity! lol I'll have to get over that feeling of bothering someone with my newbie questions and concerns! Thanks again!

I actually have a week off soon. I've been to Deland already, but I think I'll make a trip to Sebastian and maybe Z Hills that week. I've actually been out to Deland twice since my first tandem, but just kind lurked around and watched! lol

First off, thanks to all who replied on my first post! I've read enough of these forums to realize that everyone's home DZ is the best DZ out there, so it may be hard to get an unbiased opinion on this one! I'm looking to start the AFF program in either late December or January. I've tried to research all of the DZ's in my area, and there are several within an hour or so driving distance from home. The closes three being Skydive Deland, Skydive Sebastian, and Spacecoast. Z hills would also be a consideration, but is a little farther. The program itself seems pretty uniform from DZ to DZ, and the differences in cost are negligible, though that wouldn't be my first consideration either way. I'm a researcher by nature. I like to have lots of information before making a "purchase." Buying a bike or a camera are one thing...getting the best instruction for something like skydiving seems slightly more important! The problem is, without some experience it's hard to know what to look for! I have no problem completing my own background work, and trying to make informed decision, but where to start? If anyone has any pointers, I'm all ears! Any experiences good or bad with any of the DZ's that I mentioned? Feel free to send me a message if you'd like. /////////////////////////// disclaimer type addition /////////////////////////// I fully understand that instructors can only do so much, and the rest is up to me. That being said, I'll take whatever advantages I can get!

Very interesting! I've done one tandem, and will be doing another in a couple of weeks just for giggles. Then I'm planning AFF for probably January. I would have to say the first tandem was a pretty life altering experience, and I'd imagine most people are introduced to the sport this way. I'll have to go back and compare the two!

Sigh...Isn't money always the limiting factor? You are absolutely correct. I should save that money for AFF. Most definitely. However, I have a friend that is going for her birthday and asked me to go. I think it would be really difficult to ride along and not jump! AFF money will be coming soon after in the form of work bonus! I'm also working on selling a vehicle, so may have it even sooner. I will definitely let my Tandem instructor know of my interests. I'm hoping he can show me a few things on the way down. lol

You may just be right! Though won't I still need the camera? lol And trust me, nobody want's those hiking boots! I don't want to give the wrong impression here, I could hardly be more excited than I am to get back out there. I know it's kind of silly, but I'm doing another tandem in two weeks just to take off the edge! Then in January I'll have bonus money to get me through AFF! Thanks for everyone's kind words!

True, True. But keep in mind, I live in Florida. The only climbing here is indoors. I generally climb three days a week, but if I miss for some reason I can always hit some 5.7's or 5.8's till i get back into the swing of things. I was thinking after the initial "jump whenever possible phase" I could probably handle a couple weekends a month, conveniently placed on the weeks I get paid! lol But who knows, maybe that phase will never wear off!

Wow. That paragraph sounds really dorky all by itself. I hate posting in public forums! lol

Hello everyone! I've been reading these forums for the last few days, and thought it was about time to introduce myself and whatever. (I've read so many posts and replys I feel like I know some of you already!) Having said that, here's a familiar story I'm sure. I've wanted to try skydiving since I went bungee jumping back in like 1995! lol For one reason or another, I never got out there. Then about two months ago a friend asked me out of the blue, and away we went for a tandem jump in Deland. Like most people, my ideas of what this would be like were SO far from what I actually experienced. In fact, I experienced so much I don't even really remember most of it. I have a crystal clear memory of walking to the back of the plane on VERY rubbery legs, then all of a sudden I wasn't in a plane anymore! What I remember most after that, was geeking for the camera guy while mentally screaming "oh shit" over and over again in my head! (for the record, when your brain is in utter freak out mode and the camera guy gives you a big thumbs up, you can't think further than smiling like a retard and giving a thumbs up back! Need proof? Watch any tandem video on youtube.) Then the canopy opened, I found myself still breathing, and in a state of utter euphoria. So much so in fact, my tandem instructor had to ask me if I was OK! (I was!) What an utterly amazing feeling. So unlike anything I can even describe to my friends, though I have tried, and tried, and tried, and tried. I the time between then and now, I've ready just about everything I can find on the internet, watched about a million videos, dreamed and planned and schemed, and talked my friends blue in the face. I even went so far as to watch an utterly terrible movie starring one of the Cage brothers, Tom Berringer, and Dennis Rodman. It was called "Cutaway," and even with one little tandem jump under my belt, it was re-damn-diculous! (But filled up a rainy Sunday evening.) So here we are. Me, planning and working to get funding together for AFF. You, reading this long winded post. My questions is this... I know myself very well. I love new experiences, become very fixated on them, maybe even obsessive. Then after awhile, I calm down a little, pick up something new, and I'm on to a new obsession. As a result, I have LOTS of hobbies, and I love them all! Kayaking, hiking, climbing, surfing, photography, blah, blah. And while I constantly pick up new things, I keep up with the old ones as well, just not as much as I used to. I'm no dummy. Regardless of how exciting and challenging skydiving will be, it's probably not something I will eventually want to devote all of my time to. For awhile, yes. Forever, no. I recognize that as with anything in life, the more you practice, and the more you work at it, the better you get. However, most of my other hobbies have a VERY small potential to end with me deceased. Maybe bloody, and likely wet, but not deceased. Soooo. Given the right frame of mind, dedication to safety and continual learning, is skydiving something that I can do "casually?" If you know what I mean? I'm pretty much dead set on getting through AFF. That's my big life goal for right now. If I can do that I will feel that I have accomplished something to be proud of. After that, I'll have to decide how much of my life I'm willing to dedicate to the sport. Any thoughts? Thanks for reading my blathering on and on, and I look forward to meeting some of you in the near future!