Sttucker13

[email protected] Wow! thanks so much Anything above and beyond cost will go to Autism awareness. I have an Autistic son and that is what this is all about. Here is the link; http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=131484436922147 You have any videographers setup to cover your event? I've got an autistic little one of my own. Whats the going rate of hop-and-pops at your DZ so I can fund a couple?

My parents came out to see me make my first jump and have shown up a few other times since then to watch. My grandpa was a pilot back in the day and when my dad was a kid he used to "kick" skydivers out of it, so he's okay with it. Mom on the other hand... not so much.

$23 to 10k Middle of Nowhere, Ooooooklahoma. Not bad prices for a C182, I don't think.

Yeah, that was me. Someone from the magazine read my blog on myspace and asked me to write it. It was surprising to both me and my instructor that I didn't arch off the step. I hadn't had any problem with that until the first solo I did off the step and then the hop n'pop. I think I've got it worked out ok now, though. Yep I'd seen that too. :) Nice article by the way, really enjoyed it. Barely have your A and already becoming well-known, eh?

Did you have an article in the most recent parachutist by any chance? :) Anyways - I did my first hop and pop (clear and pull from 4.5k) on my 17th jump. I was a TERRIBLE IAD student, could not get an arch down - finally got cleared for Practice Clear and Pulls and couldn't do three good ones in a row to save my life. Finally got to clear and pulls, left the plane great and threw - success! :) My first five second delay, however, ended with me throwing from my back - and my first 10 second delay became a 7-second, after the first five were on my back, i finally hit belly to earth and thought "I see ground, that's long enough for me.." and tossed out. ;)

Not a bad idea. :)

Well you assume I plan on actually getting it dirty. My original plan was just strap it on and strut around the tarmac waving at pretty girls..

Well I had planned on removing the stitching myself with a stitch-puller, but as far as replacing the mudflap I was going to enlist (commandeer) one of the DZs master riggers to swap them out. I suppose if I unstitch it and it looks terrible it will just have to work until winter when I can send it in to have it replaced. Would it be possible to have a rigger sew a black, appropriately sized patch ontop of the mudflap -- maybe one with MY name sewn across it? Is that a legal modification?

I'm 1 successful swoop and dock from my A license, so of course I jumped the gun and sank my bank account to buy all of my gear. Got everything for a pretty good deal, and the whole system is top of the line, less than 10 jumps on the main and container. The container is a Vector 3M, and everything is perfect with the exception of the former owner's name being embroidered onto the left mudflap. [Mudflap? Is that right? I saw that term on the net somewhere. ;)] I heard it's possible to have a rigger replace those mudflaps -- how do I go about getting a replacement to provide him with? Or would it be possible/easier to just trim the threading off of the mudflap? The container has 10 jumps and has been sitting in a closet for a year so I'm not worried about there being a faded spot on the rig when all is said and done -- just worried that it will fray the fabric or otherwise look unseemly. Thanks for any info or advice!

I paid for my first jump course out of pocket. After that I quickly realized that I wasn't going to be able to afford it so I started working at the dropzone as the video editor. Now I spend every weekend at the DZ, am a full-time member of the staff, and have paid for 20 jumps (all of which cost me at least $70, IAD dives are expensive) - closing in on that elusive A license. Working at the DZ to pay for your jumps has got to be the best way to do it - packing, flying, whatever - at least you're immersing yourself in the sport. You learn a lot even on the days you can't afford to jump, plus you spend so much time with the people at the DZ that before you ever even get your A you'll feel like one of the crew. So if you're hurting for the money to jump, I'd recommend you spend your spare time at the DZ packing. :)

Where are you located? It'd be pretty easy to get the prices of some local DZs off the net.

I thought they were preliminary training for future IAD videographers.

Yeah - but then again I'd say go ahead and give it to him too - assuming the man learns to fly, anyone that can survive 125 PLFs from 800 feet under a round deserves a medal, not just a rating. ;)

Well, I thought of e-mailing USPA and waiting for a reply tomorrow morning...However I did a search here on these forums and found this. You might find it interesting. You're not the first student to be confounded by your question. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1023205;search_string=static%20line%20A%20License;#1023205 Now add to that Military S/L questions.... ltdiver To add a further notch of complexity I was informed by one of our instructors that in prior SIMS the military Static Line jumps were not counted and that it has flip-flopped over the course of a few SIM revisions. You would think a simple two or three line paragraph could be added to the SIM to clarify this exact issue. The fact that such an entry DOESNT exist in the SIM makes me believe that the phrase "25 Jumps" is intended to be taken at exactly it's face value, despite any misgivings or prior SIM instructions.

My first clear and pull was my 14th jump. I kept hosing on the "2 consecutive, satisfactory practice clear-and-pulls". I would pass the first one, then go flailing on the follow-up. ;) Now that I'm getting out on my own though - it's gone from "God, another IAD" to "Thank God, I get to go up!" Thanks, gonna go give that link a read.