freeatlast

Some suggestions (some of which have already been mentioned here) 1. Take your mum to the DZ - show her how carefully we look after our safety - get her to talk to someone RESPONSIBLE who can explain the FACTS. Also be aware that if she's hot then she may get hit on a bit by some of the locals - it's just a skydiver thing 2. Ask for her permission to hang around the dropzone - spend time working there and learning to pack or to manifest etc. This will make you a welcome member of the local dropzone and will earn you $$$'s which can be spent (later) on AFF or on things such as tunnel time which you could start doing now which will provide you with a whole range of skills for when you finally reach 18. 3. Find the nearest wind tunnel and try to get a part time job there - again this will provide you with great skills plus $$$'s for when you want your first rig etc ... To be fair you should try to work things out with her first ... I have spent many years 'at odds' with my mother over the dangerous things that i have done ... But i have always been honest with her, because if anything ever happened to me i would not want her to remember me as a liar ... I do not always fill her in on the details but if anything ever happens and is in the press then i generally give her a call to let her know i'm ok which seems to please her. Maybe she will never totally understand why you want to do these things or why you want to take these risks but at least if you are honest and try to be adult about things now then hopefully you will be able to respect each other as time goes on ... Just my 0.01p worth !!!

I thought £930 seemed a good deal for an almost new rig Funnily enough they never responded to all of my questions ...

Perhaps he should run for office ...

Jamile - what a start to 2008! You truly are the MASTER at "Crank a Yank" ...

My experiences of hold baggage have been a little different - i have had cases broken into whilst they have been in the TSA's "care" (albeit a few years ago) ... I even stood on one occasion and with the TSA whilst they searched my bags in LAX and locked my bags once they had verified that the search was complete - i arrived at my destination to find a suitcase complete with broken locks - the airline suggested that it must have opened in the hold - until i produced a receipt showing that the case had been bought the day before i travelled and the marks INSIDE the case showed clearly where the locks had been broken to gain access - whether it was the TSA or the local baggage handlers it reminded me to carry my rigs whenever possible ... I have also watched handlers thrown my case down violently and then pick it up and hurl it across the floor laughing when they thought everyone had gone - they were laughing until i arrived and asked for their supervisor and took their names and those of some independant witnesses and explained that they would be personally billed for all damages in a civil case ... It may not hold in law but if you introduce enough doubt into their minds about the possible consequences it's interesting to see them start back-pedaling and apologising ... I usually carry at least one rig onto the plane as hand luggage and keep all my paper work with me. I find that if you are polite and helpful rather than argumentative it goes a long way too ... Also arrive in plenty of time and stand your ground reasonably - in Auckland they told me "the captain won't let you on with a parachute as he doesn't have one" I explained that they hadn't minded when i'd flown into NZ with my rig as a carry-on item. We discussed it for almost an hour and they were running out of excuses as to why it would not be allowed onboard when i introduced my friend who was sitting with me as a being a local reporter who would be running the story shortly ... 10 minutes later and i was on the plane WITH my rig ...

I'm sure that there are a couple of Advance Packers (who can pack your reserve) that are from Cark DZ and live outside of Liverpool ... I don't have their details to hand but you could check with the DZ ...

Fly Free ... BSBD ...

You guys suck

Tristan - think of all the accessories you can buy in pink ...

Don't you know that pink is the new black ??? - Ask Avery or Karen ....

Hey now - those V2's were difficult to fly ... It's not like i was heavy or anything !!! So Jarno - Tristan finally sold out huh?

I stopped by and did a couple of jumps there a while back ... Say hi to Larry and the others from me ... It's a great DZ and the cocktails by the fire really hit you hard ... Also see if you can borrow Larry's "stars and stripes" rig ... Just remember that it doesn't have a cypres !!!

The cheapest place can be the costliest one if the training is sub-standard and you potentially die. I have often thought that saving $10 just to end up going in would be the worst saving i'd ever make. Skydiving costs a lot - often it costs more money than you have (because you start dreaming of trips / gear / stupid stuff) and so whatever your budget is, you are likely to exceed it. However if you wish to jump as cheaply as possible, how about going to the best LOCAL DZ - where people will get to know you and will often help you ... Then see if they have any jobs that need doing - helping in the bar / packing parachutes / clearing up - whatever they need someone to do - often they will reward you with free jumps / cheap instruction etc. Its a good way to meet people and to save money

... Come on Jarno - the next step is to DO YOUR AFF IN A WINGSUIT ... Stage two might be to do your wingsuit AFF WITHOUT DOING UP YOUR CHEST STRAP !!!

We jumped several wingsuit loads at the pre-cochstedt boogie through what i initially mistook for cloud, however, after consulting with my belgium and dutch friends it appears i mistook "industrial haze" for "clouds"

No, NOT THE CHEESEY PEAS .... ANYTHING BUT THAT ....

And I was going to say - why couldn't it be the weekend BEFORE bridge day - then i could combine BOTH ... Now i'm going to have to choose between them or QUIT WORK ...

You guys are not going anywhere near me with Vaseline and anything pink - that breaks rule No.1. The only exception to this rule is if your a hot chick in pink panties ... ... Or a chick without any panties at all ...

I'm heading to the wingsuit weekend and was thinking of bringing my rig ... Anything nice to play with nearby??? Locals please PM me if there's anything i should know ... Anyone else bringing their rigs along?

Are the belgium beers as plentifull as the dutch windmills ??? - because those F**kers lied - i hardly saw any windmills last time - although we did see some great strippers .... Anyhow i've managed to rent a car and book a ticket so please book extra space on some of the loads for a fat guy in a winguit .... If anyone needs a lift from Schipol to Schaffen and back then just let me know but the bad news is that i'm not going to Cochstedt now

A spare Slut - woo hoo !!! Now there's an offer ... This is going to be the FRIENDLIEST BOOGIE ...

Oh F*ck it ... I'm in ... I knew that i wanted to get my new phantom out .... And my liver hasn't had a kicking in days now .... What's the best place to fly into for the boogie ??? - Amsterdam / Rotterdam? Also I'm booked for the cochstedt boogie as well so should i book my return flight from germany or amsterdam ??? Anyone have any space in their car??? God help me ....

Cool ... I'll get myself out of bed in the morning and head for Sibson ... See you there tomorrow ...

Me ??? FAST ??? LOL ....

I have to say now that i have had 3 helmets from 2k and their customer service has always been great... Sometimes it takes a while to get a helmet made - but the quality is great and the guys have always taken care of me - even when i've wanted a custom paint job or even that time that i 'lost' one in freefall !!! In fact they replaced the helmet that time at cost despite it being my own stupid fault ... So please don't jump to hasty conclusions when i doubt you've met the guys - (if you had then you wouldn't have typed that comment) I for one am really happy with this company and understand that it can be hard to keep to delivery times especially when if your staff are jumpers and the sun's shining !!!