ILUVCHUTERS

I'm absolutely terrified of airplanes (well, I was) to the point where I needed an Ativan prescription to fly anywhere. My friend was graduating college and sent out a facebook email to a bunch of people to go skydiving. At first I was like, HELL NO. Then I thought about it, and figured, why on earth not. I was so scared my first tandem I could barely get into the aircraft. Our airplane is a Caravan, and I said "Ohmygodthat'sthesmallestplaneI'veeverseen" and actually backed away from it. Something made me get in, and then something made me get out. As soon as we left the aircraft I knew I was hooked. Ditched some girlfriends who'd come up to visit from all over the country to take my first jump course a few weeks later. That one was out of a 182, and I was like - Holy shit the planes get SMALLER??? Took me a few jumps before I could watch people leave the aircraft, for some reason that always freaked me out. Couldn't look out the door, either. Now I've no problems with spotting, sticking my head out the door, etc. I can even sit next to an open Otter door and not be *too* scared. Three seasons later, I'm Coach 1 (Canada) and Instructor rated to teach FJC. Got some jumps in Eloy, Perris, and some tunnel time booked for Christmas in Eloy, with a plan to get my C licence and Coach 2 next year and perhaps one day even AFFI. And then there's the small detail I also met my SO skydiving... I am no longer (really) afraid of airplanes. I'm still not fond of landing with them, thankfully I don't have to very often. I still bring the Ativan just in case when I fly commercially, but rarely have to use it anymore. I'm not super fond of turbulence in jump planes, but then remember I'm wearing a parachute so if I needed to get out, I could. I absolutely love working with novices, and one of my favorite things now is to teach FJC and talk to my students after they've landed, and I've even got to see a few of them go on to AFF and beyond this year. That's been so rewarding for me.

Quote I beg to differ. There is a lot to be said for solo jumps. Practicing of skills, for one thing. Like front loops, back loops, barrel rolls, unstable exits, purposefully getting unstable then getting stable again, etc. Practicing gaining control of your own body before attempting to fly with someone else is an important skill, I think. Then, coach jumps are great for learning how to fly with other people, and having them watch you do those skills you practiced so you can get feedback on how you are doing those skils. Every so often it's great fun (for me, anyway) to go out and do a solo jump. Nobody to bug me...

Exactly. I refrained from commenting on that post, but seriously.... That person is not the person that I, with a new coach rating, will be coaching. It'll be the 20-jump person who needs to do a barrel roll, front loop, and back loop on the same jump for their A license, and needs someone to watch them (and who is allowed to jump with them) and sign off on that. Or the one who needs me to teach them how to do front riser turns (above 2000 feet, of course). And according to CSPA, I'm qualified/capable of doing so, safely.

So they're not confused with Reserve canopies? Every time I see an all-while canopy in the air I automatically think it's a reserve.

Same reason I got my Coach 1 rating (Canadians have a bit of a different coach rating system). I am allowed to jump with "Novices" and observe them in the air, but I am not allowed to touch them. I can teach them certain skills like front loops, back loops, barrel rolls, etc. I remember how hard it was sometimes to get someone to jump with me at that stage, and I love going up and just watching them do stuff. They're so happy, and they have so much fun, and it makes it worth it for me. Most of my jumps this year have been with novices, and junior jumpers just beginning to be allowed to do two-ways with others. And they've been some of my funnest jumps this year

Say hi to "Larry" for me. (You'll see...) Just print off your manuals, do your pre-course work, and you'll be one step ahead of the game. Hopefully the weather's nice, I plan on visiting your DZ and hopefully making a jump or two over the weekend!!

At home when accidents happen (the cats, not me :P) I use something called Nature's Miracle - gets rid of the smell, enzymes, etc. I get it at Pet Smart. I'm in Canada, but the US has all the stuff we have and more I find. Might want to check with your rigger to see if anything in the Nature's Miracle would harm nylon, that's one fabric I've never had to use it on.

Those are very very cool pics!

I think we'll be alright

We're not entirely sure yet. I've polled some friends on another message board for some rules. Some of the suggestions are: Everytime you see a pair of the red mittens on T.V - drink a shot; Everytime you see something about Visa, McDonalds, or Coke, take a shot; Knock back a shot of Jager every time a former Olympian with zero broadcasing experience stumbles their way through a commentary. Two for every time they say, "The Canadians really worked hard for this, Brian." I think it'll be a lot of fun :)

We're going to turn them into a drinking game of some sort :)

Congratulations!!

Or the Habs....at least they win every so often...

Dude that sucks! Glad you're ok and not dead though. We hit those conditions on the way back from Eloye too, just past Idaho Falls. Turned back twenty minutes out of town to spend the night. Good thing we did, I think. Get better soon! Oh..and you should cheer for a better team, that way it won't hurt so much to watch them

We saw Cirque's "O" on NYE and it was absolutely amazing. I'd highly recommend that one to see. Take a trip to Freemont Street, then tell me how it is. Everyone keeps saying I should go there, but I've been to Vegas 3 times and never made it down.

Just did my first balloon jump over Christmas at Eloy with Burner and crew. Was AMAZING and I'd definitely do it again! They were fantastic :)

I'm sorry about your cat.

A big thanks to all down at Skydive AZ for a fantastic time! Everyone there made this newbie feel welcome and made sure I didn't sit on the ground for too long! Will definitely be back next year!

Yup, it happens a lot :) Maddie doesn't seem to care about Chloe's revered-ness

Chloe, the exalted and revered Beagle, and Madeleine, my rottie/lab/hound/whatever mix.

I'm so sorry :(

Wow...that was great!

Frenchy made it out to the Calgary Parachute Club's 50th Anniversary Boogie last month. Fitting since there were a lot of members who made it out from years gone by. Eternal Blue Ones.....

That was great, thank you.