mellow

skydive hollister is awesome! i did my aff there this last july and have only missed one weekend since my first jump. my aff instructors were the best, and i would highly recommend this dropzone. nice, big, safe landing area, fantastic views all the way from the ocean to the sierras, super fun people, high standard for safety, and great weather- just to name a few things. i love this place!

thanks guys- you all had some good ideas that i'll try. i'll be down at the dz this weekend, so, in addition to continuing to try and figure it out on my own, i'll get a coach jump. eventually i'll get it. it feels great for the few seconds i'm actually stable! wish me luck! Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

early on, i had a bad case of the spins during aff, and have figured that out many jumps ago. but now, every time i attempt to backfly, i immediately start turning, and before i can attempt to figure out what is asymmetrical, i start to spin, so i just flip over and go back to my belly. i try again a few seconds later, and the same thing happens. i've talked to a few coaches/instructors at my dz and gotten some ideas, but haven't been on a coach jump yet with anyone to try and fix this. maybe someone has an idea that i can try??? thanks. Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

i had a pretty good case of the spins myself, and what helped me was to simply relax and arch. for me, once i let myself just surrender to the air, and really relax into the arch, my body symmetry balanced itself perfectly and the spins disappeared. something asymmetrical is causing the spin. i found that relaxing was key to keep symmetry. good luck! you'll figure out what works for you. Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

love it!! thanks for sharing that lauren! Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

oh, excellent! thanks so much! Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

although i just got my A card finished yesterday, (yay!!!), i'm just a few jumps away from getting my B, and i'm taking the water training in two weeks, i'm thinking i'll just go straight for the B license now. i was wondering, which parts of the sim should i study to prepare for the written test for the B license? thanks. Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

i dove out, got stable and then just floated until pull time. it is awesome being alone out there with no pressure to perform for an instructor. i did quite a few solos after aff, and for most of them my dive flow consisted of "farting around." i was in no hurry to perform tasks for the A card. tomorrow, however, is my A license check dive, so after alot of acclimating to the sky and lots of flips and just plain having fun with solos, and slowly but surely acquiring the skills needed for a license, i'm finally almost licensed! moral of my story: have fun, be safe, and go at your own pace toward the A license. Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

take this with a grain of salt and listen to your instructors first and foremost......... for me, completing the front and back loop, and finishing on heading, was about staying tucked longer, and then sort of kicking out at the end. i mistakenly felt that the initial thrust would be enough to carry me all the way around, but the air, as you are falling at 120mph changes things.... good luck, and have fun. flips are super fun for me still. Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

during the first 4 or 5 aff jumps, the door really freaked me out. as soon as it opened, and the noise of the wind was there, i was full of anxiety- until i jumped out. then i was in freefall, and felt great. it didn't take too long before i got used to the door, though. now, if i haven't jumped for a week or so, before the first jump or two, i am nervous in the plane. i check my handles about a dozen times (i check them for all jumps anyway, but when i'm nervous i check them alot), and then as soon as the door opens, the anxiety goes away and i just want to get out. so now the door doesn't have me freaked at all, just the ride to altitude when there's a lapse of time between jumps. i never want the butterflies to go away. i think they'll keep me focused on being safe. even if i've made several jumps in a row, and i'm not really feeling particularly nervous anymore, in the plane i wonder if this will be the jump that i have a mal or cutaway, which prompts me to check my handles and review what i would do in various scenarios. Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

hi lauren- it's good to see you're back! if you put your mind to it, and just decide that you're going to learn how to skydive, and learn how to be safe and aquire the necessary skills, then you will. i promise. aff was really, really hard for me in the beginning, and i quit twice (only for a few minutes, though...haha)- but then i found my determination again to succeed, i repeated the levels that i hadn't figured out yet, and then passed. i set small, attainable goals for myself. first, it was to just pass the previously failed level, then it was to finish aff, then to get the A license. i'm still just a jump or two away from my A, but have set a new goal. i want to get my coach rating when i reach 100 jumps. so set a reasonable goal for yourself, and then just go for it. you know you can do it! Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

my humble and inexperienced opinion: i say buy jump tickets. i just bought the best deal that my dz offers- $1000 for 67 tickets- that's $15 a slot. now i know that no matter what comes up in terms of finances, i have lots of jumping already paid for. Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

i've worked through plenty of fears in my short skydiving career so far- and you can too! one thing that really helped me was reading brian germain's book, "tanscending fear." it is an excellent book and has helped me immensely. he also has a video on youtube you can google- Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

no one was more scared than i was..... i really struggled with aff in the beginning, and then had a really frightening level 4 jump when my instructor let me go (and never got back) and i spun violently like a propeller for the entire freefall- the fear of jumping again after that was extremely intense- but i did it- and then aff got fun, and i was ok. then there were my first few solos- whose going to babysit me up there? what's the dive flow? how do i exit? i'm alone now.....more fear..... and then that passed. i made a few coach jumps, worked through the fears, and then my solos got really fun. in fact i started enjoying myself so much that finishing the A card became second priority. i just wanted to dive out, barrel roll about 9 or 10 times on my way out of the plane and just have fun out there for the sake of having fun. and now, at 40 jumps, i'm just about done with the A card, and ready to meet new challenges. and i can tell you, from my perspective, each time i face and overcome a fear, i feel better and stronger and more alive. you can do it! just take a deep breath, relax, and get acclimated to one of the best places around- the beautiful, vast, open space of the sky. Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

isn't it great!? i'm in just about the same boat! Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

now that i've actually made a few jumps, my outlook has completely changed. i started this thread after having done 2 tandems in which both times the wind really battered my sinuses and ears. it was after those experiences i thought i wanted more protection from the wind in my face. now, after 14 jumps, things have changed. first of all, my body is in a slightly different position than it was for the tandems, and the wind doesn't bother my sinuses at all anymore. and, the helmet i wore for aff kept the wind out of my ears. so the reasons i was looking for a full face don't really exist anymore. however, still exploring that option, i have tried a few different helmets on over the past few weeks. to my surprise, i absolutely hated the chlostrophobic feeling of a full face! i cannot imagine wearning one now! with so little experience though, i am not going to make any major purchases on a helmet right now. i could very well change my mind again. i like the protec helmet i've been using as a student, and have been content to just keep using that one. i have to say, though, that when i read a previous poster comment on how sweaty and stinky those student helmets were, i cringed. i flashed back to an image i saw of a nervous student sweating profusely and actually dripping sweat from his face with one of those helmets on. that was it for me. i ordered a brand x from square 1! for $32 it will be just fine for a while, and it will be clean! Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

i'm still not sure what kind of helmet i want, i need to make alot more jumps to figure that out before i invest in something. Quotethere is a much more important piece of gear that should be first in my opinion an altimeter!!!!Quote the first things i bought were an altimeter and goggles. i'm still using the student helmet i used for aff. Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

i just finished last weekend. isn't it great!? good job! have fun and be safe! Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

i got used to one that i liked, and used it through all levels of aff. i felt that i had enough going on without getting used to a new parachute on those jumps. i just did what the last poster suggested about letting my instructor know that i preferred a particular rig, and it worked out great. i feel like it's important to feel as safe and as comfortable as possible up there, so if i can control this one variable, it's to my benefit. good luck! Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

yea. you gotta do what you gotta do, i think. the way i look at it, though, is, i am making so many new friends at the dz who i can really relate to, and they love talking aobut skydiving, too! how about that? and also, i think that we are so new still, that we are in the overly obsessed stage. maybe things will level off a bit. i do want to maintain some semblance of balance in my life! Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

same thing happened to me.... and my dz is almost 3 hours away- so add 6 hours of drivng every weekend on top of everything else. in fact, just tonight i was reflecting on how i can't (or don't want to) think about anything else right now. everything else in my life has paled in the light of my new love of skydiving! Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

i repeated levels 2 and 4, and would have happily repeated more if i had to. IMO it's not a race to the finish line, nor is my progress something that i would compare with another's. my goal has been and will be to learn how to be safe up there, as well as have fun and learn new skills. and now that i'm finished with AFF, and have new goals, i have the same mindset. however long it takes is however long it takes. Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

i just finished aff and i'll be 49 in a few weeks. Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

2 a day has been max for me. i get all psyched up, go over the dive flow in my mind, and on the creeper, get all the gear organized, etc.... then after the jump, we talk about it, i think about it, and i just chill out for at least an hour- by this time, half the day is gone, so one more jump is about it for me. last sunday i only made one jump. i could have done more, but my instructor was too busy with tandems, and then the weather got weird. i also bought the package. it was a good deal. 10 free jump tickets for after aff came with it. good luck! Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

thanks for all of the nice comments everyone! what would i do without this forum during the weekdays while i wait to back to the dz??? i LOVE skydiving....... Jennifer don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.