zaofan

Agreed completely! People I know look at me like I'm a freak for making one tandem so far. (AFF in the spring, too far away! ). It's not been engrained in the mainstream yet, and in a way I'd kind of like to keep it that way. I like being known at the office as the guy that jumped out of an airplane. Who knows, a video game would be nice though...

Agreed completely. Thank you for your service. I had a friend in Iraq for 2 1/2 years. Welcome to the forums! I wish I lived in warmer climes so that I could get through AFF before spring.

Hey! Welcome to the forums! I'm from Indiana too. Which DZ did you finish your AFF at? I'm getting ready to start AFF as soon as I can get it into my schedule. I've already got the first two jumps bought, and would have been done with them if it wasn't for a day of horrible weather. ** Edit ** Looks like you mentioned Skydive Greensburg as your home DZ. THat's where I did my first tandem. Who was your instructor(s)? I'll be doing my AFF there. So any info you can give is appreciated! Sounds like I'll have to enter that Red Bull contest myself!

Congrats man! Looks like you're indeed having fun up there. Can't wait to start my AFF.

I think this is a common malady for all of us noobies. I'm the same way. I have 1 jump under my belt, but another 2 have already been bought. I just can't wait for the day I can use them!

Hah! I felt the SAME way! I have one jump under my belt, but another two have been bought already, and I'm definately getting ready to start AFF as well. I was supposed to jump last Sat., but no one paid the good weather bill. Low clouds as far as the eye could see. I waited around the DZ for about 6 hours before finally bailing. Can't wait to go again though. Welcome to the forums!

Congrats indeed! Can't wait for my AFF to start!

Nope, no jump for me on 9/27. I checked the weather report the morning of, and it was showing clearing skies at the DZ starting at 9:00 am. My jump was scheduled for 9:30, so I drove 2 hours to the DZ, saw heavy low clouds, but thought "ah, they'll clear soon enough!". I went through the ground training, all the while the clouds never cleared. So after waiting at the DZ for ~6 hours, they said no jumps today. I have to re-schedule. Oh well, maybe within the next couple of weeks I'll be able to start. We'll see - it's already paid for so it'll happen sooner or later. How'd your jump go???

Wow! Thanks for all the input Drew and Bertt! I've been looking over the Triathlon and Sabre2, both look like what I'll want to get in to. Reviews say they're reliable, safe, and easy to manuver.

Hi everyone, After discussions with the wife, I think I may look to get licensed and start jumping more regularly. I just wanted to start budgeting for a complete rig, as I have nothing yet. I'm a bigger guy, at 5'11'' and about 200 pounds. I've been losing weight and plan to get to my target of 175 pounds by the end of the year. My question though is what type of gear should I look for? I want a canopy that's a bit safer and easy to handle vs. a performance canopy to start with. Any suggestions? THanks!

Given my COMPLETE lack of knowledge on any of this (I've only been on one tandem dive with another scheduled on 9/27), I agree completely with Skymama. I'd give tandem another shot and see how comfortable you are with it on that attempt. Common sense just tells me that if you do fine there, maybe then you should progress to AFF. Your life is worth much more than the $200 or so you'd spend on one extra tandem dive, consider it a life insurance policy. I completely agree though about being obsessed with skydiving now, even after only one jump! I've had dreams about it, and I've watched my film every day since the jump. The 27th can't come fast enough! Take care, and BE CAREFUL! I'd hate to read about you in the injury or fatality databases here on this site.

Well, I'm going to start my AFF dives on 9/27! Can't wait!

I jumped at Skydive Greensburg in Indiana. I went tandem, but am going to go through AFF training next year. Hopefully with my wife too! She loved the jump as well. Yes, I've had dreams about it too. Today is as clear as can be in Indiana, blue skies everywhere. It ain't making it easy to be stuck on the the ground at work!

Wow! I jumped for the first time Saturday, 9/13/08, and I have to admit that I can't stop thinking about it. Jump #2 can't come soon enough. I hope you all can see my jump numbers soar soon...