debussyschild

Haha, yeah, I've already been advised to avoid swooping, primarily because I'm about 5'2" and would have a hard time with it, and yes, swooping is indeed much more dangerous than just belly diving. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Ok, I've made one jump. I LOVED IT!!!!! I still have an incredible amount of learning to do, but that first jump (AFF Category A... yes, I passed :-D) really opened my eyes to why in the world people jump out of perfectly good airplanes. Because it kicks every other sport square in the kisser!!! To give you an idea of where I stand, I guess the best way to describe how I feel about the sport is to reflect on my first experience. I was VERY nervous on the way up in the plane--not to mention the entire WEEK before I was scheduled to do my jump--(a CASA at the West Point Halloween Boogie, VA), but I just kinda sang a little song to myself to keep calm and to keep my breathing steady. That definitely helped when the pilot performed the zero-g maneuver for the raft dive exit. Fun fun! Anyways, I got up from my seat when my instructors told me to, approached the tailgate, poised for exit, performed my hotel check-in, exit count, and SEE YA! I was flying! I don't recall being scared in the air at all. I DO recall, however, being hyperfocused and very much aware of everything that was going on around me (to the extent that a student would BE aware, that is... I still have much to grasp). I remember I was doing very well maintaining good body position, only I did go a little super-man with my arms. I performed my three practice touches perfectly. I was scheduled to deploy at 6,000, but one of my instructors gave me the signal to pull at 7,000 (long spot) and without even thinking about it (I don't really remember his finger in my face, telling me to PULL!!), I quickly waved off and deployed. I did my count and began looking to see if I had something over my head. I did, with some surprise line twists to go with it. Fortunately, I didn't have to do much to correct the problem. The canopy fixed itself in about 2 seconds and then promptly inflated. YAY! Once I had confirmed that it was THERE, SQUARE, and (after performing practice turns and flares) STEERABLE, I let out a sigh of relief and just took in the view over the West Point drop zone. Absolutely breathtaking!! I almost cried a little bit out of relief, that 1) I managed to do everything I was supposed to do without freaking out and 2) that I was alive and steering a canopy for the very first time!!! Then I started making my way towards my holding area and with some radio assistance, successfully landed my canopy right where I had planned. Thanks for virtually no ground winds. So, there you have it. I thoroughly enjoyed the very intense and exhilirating RUSH from being in free fall and I want to do it again SOOO badly, but I too have my reservations about putting my life at risk each time I jump. What I'd really like to know is how did some of you seasoned jumpers know that this is what you wanted to do and what influenced your decision that the rewards you have experienced from this sport (for you individually) significantly outweigh the risks? I have a feeling that the more I jump, the greater level of rewards I will experience, regardless of whether or not during some of those jumps some scary situations may undoubtedly occur. I do know this with much certainty: skydiving is a challenging and thrilling sport which requires much self-monitoring and discipline as well as a pro-active attitude and a conscientious mind. For that very reason I have a lot of respect for the sport and for those who reach great levels of success during their participation in it. Not to answer my own question, but perhaps it is just a matter of taking a "just do it" approach and seeing what happens next.

Best decision on my life #2: skydiving. It was incredible! I passed with flying colors (literally, orange and yellow) and met lots of really great and helpful people, too. And, of course, partied hard!!!!!!!! Can't wait for my cat B jump!! Blue skies "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I'm in the same boat. I'm starting my AFF on Saturday. Have fun!!!

The title of my post is pretty self-explanatory. I had originally signed up to just do a tandem jump this weekend at the West Point Halloween Boogie, but it turns out I can start my AFF there. My brother, who I didn't know was as psyched as I am about learning to skydive, signed up to do a category A jump. So I signed up too! I trust my brother more than anything. Just knowing that he's going to be going through the same rigorous training before the category A jump along side myself is more than I could ask for. I still can't believe I'm doing this!!!!!!! Wish me luck!!!!

no one will know what this is... but it makes me happy in my methods class for music education we have this exercise for reading/playing music from flash cards and the little one measure ditty's the class plays are accompanied by a CD recording that is part of the flash card exercise. the funky beat exercise is like the epitome of jazz funk and it's SOOOO much fun to listen to and play along with!! for a more realistic answer that everyone else might know... Marvin Gaye - Give It Up .... LOVE IT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeLjT4nrUTQ "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

This feels like a myspace survey... oh lordy... and the procrastination sets in... what's homework again? anyways, I digress. 1. Whats your name? Brittany 2. How old are you? 21 yrs, and almost 7 months. yes i get my drink on frequently. halloween boogie here i come!! 3. Why did you decide to start jumping out of airplanes? hmm.... when I quit my sorority. no joke. i'd rather jump out of a plane then sit through another pointless chapter meeting ever again. 4. Are you single or taken? Married? Definitely single. keeping it that way for a while unless someone really catches my attention. 5. Do you have kids? Negative 6. What do you drive? 2001 Dodge Intrepid, dark green. It's a BOAT. Love it. 7. Have you ever done a kisspass? Haven't made my first jump yet, don't know what that is, but I can take a wild guess. 8. Where do you live? Blacksburg, VA. Good ole Virginia Tech. Gobble gobble, bitches. 9. Do you have any pets? 4 lovely dogs and a cat back at home in NOVA (Northern VA) 10. How many jumps do you have? Working on my first. It's coming. I swear. This weekend. YES!! 11. What color eyes do you have? Hazel 12. What is your nationality? Umm.. white? I guess that works, but I don't think it's appropriate. 13. Have you ever dated someone you met off the internet? Ughhh 14. Favorite Movie? The Fifth Element, among others 15. What do you do when you arent skydiving? Full time student with an insane amount of extra shit to do. Being a music major is not easy, folks. 16. Have you ever BASE jumped? No, and before this weekend I would have said "hell no" to that. But now... I'm thinking one day, with plenty of skydiving experience, I just might. 17. If not... do you want to? Yep 18. Do you have siblings? Older brother, younger sister. 19. Where do you want to travel to the most? Somewhere warm. Blacksburg is getting cold again.... grr 20. What's your favorite color? Green 21. Where was the last place you flew to ( not skydiving )? Pretty sure the last time I was on a plane was when I was coming back from Italy. Two summers ago... I drive a lot. Ironic, no? "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Congrats and even more congrats for being able to start skydiving! I'm FINALLY doing my first tandem (after saving A LOT) this weekend. I've been reading like CRAZY about skydiving. Like you, I want to start my AFF soon, so I decided to read and get a feel for what I should expect. I read the ever popular book by Dan Poynter "Parachuting: The Skydiver's Handbook" and while it's definitely not all you need to know, it's a pretty comprehensive introduction to the history of the sport and the sport itself, including training and yes... emergency situations and malfunctions. Those sections are fun to read over and over again. I checked out the book from my university library instead of buying it (which I will when I have funds) and it has been well worth the read. Only, I'm sure, the only thing that can REALLY prepare you is making your first jump. Talk to lots of skydivers, ask lots of questions, and immerse yourself in it. That's been working for me so far and I haven't made a jump yet, but I can sure tell you a whole lot about the sport. Only the best knowledge comes with experience tho. And that means LOTS of awesome jumps!!!!!!!! Again, welcome!! "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

sweetness i feel so spoiled to be making my first tandem out of a Casa. i will have to look for ya! you'll probably see a couple of us (me and my group) wearing VT Skydive Club sweatshirts. there's a big parachuting hokie bird on the back. can't miss it. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

congrats, man! i'm sooooo jealous. awesome pictures! "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

heh heh the signature from your posts is quoting another quote from the Skydiving Handbook. great book! glad you liked west point. i've been hearing how amazing the halloween boogie is supposed to be and i cannot wait to go. the name's brittany. i'm a short blonde girl who's usually pretty loud, maybe we'll run into each other. if not, i hope you get your drink on and have an awesome time on your jump!! blue skies to you too "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

hey, thanks! bridge day was AWESOME. very well coordinated and sponsored and TELEVISED. this brings in so much positive publicity for a very misunderstood (but amazing) sport. a lot of whuffos were there and that's what i like to see... future skydivers! i played camera-girl for some other people from the skydiving club at Virginia Tech. three of them made their first base jump there. the other two guys just added to their number of base jumps. it was such a fun time, i met a lot of really nice people and even some people that are planning on going to the west point boogie. i may be making my first skydive this saturday, but i'm already counting down until i can safely make my first base jump! javascript:%20addTag('sly') "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Brand new to skydiving. Just went to Bridge Day 2008 in WV and if all goes well, might just jump it next fall! After my first jump this coming Saturday (FINALLY!!), I'm going to start AFF for my A-license. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."