brucet7

I have DCs, but I see most anything out there. Lots of Converse, Skeets, Nikes, and even barefeet. Oh, and welcome to the brick club, you have some company at 250 and granite. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

I have done one night jump, this Halloween. I cannot say if you will be scared, but I was very nervous. Going out of the door was not that bad, and getting oriented to the landing strip was no real trouble. I kept an eye on the landing zone the whole way up. My personal landing was a crash. I passed the lit landing area at a little above 200 ft, off into the dark. The instructions were to head toward the runway as there are lights over there. I cannot say what I really did. I am told I just flew into the ground with no flare. I hit feet, knees and then face. I cracked my helmet and was taken by ambulance to the ER. I was awake, they tell me, and could tell them everything except my age. My memory returns while I was in the catscan machine. I had a concussion, sprained neck, and black eye. And I am still grounded, though probably could go this weekend but I am out of town. I am in no rush, but I plan to have a second jump sometime next year. The freefall and canopy ride were wonderful. Kind of wish I remembered the landing. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

As a low number jumper, I must say I like knowing the landing before takeoff. It makes setting up my landing pattern easier, as I have enough to think about and watch for without trying to determine the direction of the FMD. I am sure once I have thousands of these thing I could do it differently, but there will always be low jump number among us. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

This year three have made either Tandems or AFFs. Others are talking, but mostly talk at this point. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

I talk about skydiving regularly. As a minister, one of the things I do is preach sermons. I use skydiving as an illustration. I also talk about it in classes that I do. I am proud and most of the people around me either respect me or are jealous. Only a few really harrass me or think I am stupid. I don't mention it to my doctor however. He hates skydiving. My friend was lectured so severly by him that he left the appointment in the middle and found a new doc. So that is a subject I don't mention. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

On my last hard opening, my neck was sore, my chest hurt, and the riser rash on my face attracted attention from several whuffos. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

As a big guy, once I learned to be stable I had to learn to flatten out so I don't drop too fast. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

Find a different DZ. I know lots of us that did our AFF at or near 250. I didn't have big AFF instructors, just good ones who knew how to fall with me. As to the suit, I have a heavy cotton suit which has slowed me considerably. Material is as important as the size. And be ready for a little teasing. I was visiting a DZ and their packer/rigger walked by, looked at my rig and said, "Nice tandem rig." Pipsqueek! POPS #10623; SOS #1672

Mine was $2500 with an AAD with 6 months left on it. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

I had to lose 60 pounds to start skydiving. There are many resources to help with weight loss. I have used www.sparkpeople.com which is a free site, for two years. There are a lot more reasons to lose weight than to skydive, but skydiving is, or was for me, a great reward/motivation. Lose the weight and hit the sky! POPS #10623; SOS #1672

Your openning sound just like the one I had on my Sabre 2 last weekend. I was dazed a bit, had a riser burn on my chin. People heard mine on the ground, my rigger said, "Oh, I wouldn't want to be you." And I rock and rolled for a bit as well. I had a combination of slider and body position. You have my sympathy. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

My daughter told me today that she loves to see me talk about skydiving. There is a life and a passion that radiates. I thanked my wife for letting me take up this expensive sport. "You're welcome. And it is cheaper than a psychiatrist." Welocme to life lived. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

I am a low number jumper with no reserve rides. I am not really scared of my reserve, though I think I will at least learn what color it is at the next repack. I am anxious about getting so nervous that I won't remember what to do or question whether the problem is really bad enough to cut away. I have had a couple of nightmares about it. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

My sympathies are with you. I had my wife at the doctor's on Monday and someone kicked in my front door and stole my LCD TV and two laptops. I feel you pain. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

My wife was always supportive. My kids (grown) are cool with it, and the grandkids love it. I have been a show-and-tell theme. My mom is nervous. So I guess the answer is from the beginning. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

When I actually get a point or two (dreaming of three one of these days) on an RW. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

Windows Movie Maker doesn't do too badly and it part of XP or Vista, which ever you have. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

Yes you can. I am 6' and 245 lbs as of this morning. I am the same weight as when I did my AFF. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

For what it is worth, while skydiving is a significant part of my life, if I cannot afford the jump, I don't jump. I spread out my A license jumps. I did let a few other things go, not my bills but less eating out, no movies, hamburger instead of sirloin, that kind of thing. I saved for my gear, though before I had the full amount I found some I wanted. Priority one was paying off that debt. My advice, PAY AS YOU GO! POPS #10623; SOS #1672

I read you post and think, "That could be me." I have similar jump numbers and just passed a year in the sport, last week. I keep dreaming, someday. I have never completed a whole RW plan and consider it a success to actually look my partner in the eyes at some point in the jump. A new suit (slow) and more jumps is my plan. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

I watched the show with my wife, who is supportive of my hobby and as soon as she gets some health issues taken care of is going to do a tandem, and my mother, who is less than enthusiastic about the sport. I don't think my mom felt a lot better about what I do, but then again she was making repairs on my jump suit while watching so all is not lost. Over all, I liked it and will show it to several of my friends who wonder about this thing we do. Correcting the mistakes as we go. And I did learn a thing or two. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

Relax and enjoy the moment. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

At Kaposwin: 13,000' and Below $24* 8000' and Below $19* 4000' and Below $14* * Cash or checks discount, $1.00 off each jump. That said, it is pretty hard to get a jump less than 13k most days. Hop & Pops are cloudy day alternatives. An one of these days I am going to do at 13k Hop and Pop to try out some things with my canopy. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

Congrats and I look forward to seeing it in the very near future. I am loving my Sabre 2, though I confess I don't have a lot of exerience with others to compare it with. POPS #10623; SOS #1672

The SIM is available at my DZ. When I started I was encouraged to download a copy for USPA and several times while waiting for weather they gave me a copy to study. I have a fancy cell phone and have downloaded the pdf onto my file and I have it with me and read it regularly. I admit that I don't read it for entertainment, but I don't read many techical manual for entertainment. But then again, I have downloaded and read the SIM, my canopy, containers, AAD, and altimeter manuals as well. POPS #10623; SOS #1672