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we're going naked ziplining..figured being between the clouds and the ground might be a safe place..kinda like a different kind of noah's ark..hehe!! THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

Here's another quip to squabble about. How many parents let their kids lay down in the backseat when driving on a long trip, but as soon as the kid sits up they must have their seatbelt on? Funny,but true story: when I was a newly licensed teen driver in the heat of summer, one day i was sitting in traffic with my foot out the window (car didnt have A/C), seatbelt on when a police officer on a horse approached my car and asked what I was doing and I told him aging and getting fat (I was eating some ho hos at the time) He said you really should get your foot out the window or I'll have to give you a ticket. I said, make you a deal, let me keep my foot out the door and I will give you the rest of my ho hos.......he agreed and rode off with the rest of my melting box of ho hos. THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

When I went out to Eloy in February I stayed in a team room ..just two of use. Plenty of room to spread out and secure your stuff. it wasnt bad, but we didnt have a car so when the weather went to shit it limited things a bit...the Prop is great, but after a couple weeks I was ready for a new menu. But while I was there I was approached by a couple DZ ppl that said that I could have rented a room in their house for like $30 a night, which the team room was $40. The places were only maybe a 1-2 miles from the DZ at most. Plus the houses/ rooms have a TV to watch, comfy couches and a nice WARM shower. I am definately going to do that next time. One was Amy Chemeleki which as you may know is a very skilled FF. I dont have her number, but I know she is on DZ.com. Another was Tommy and Tammy Curtis- he also offers shuttle service too. His email address is [email protected]. Good luck and have fun!! THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

One of the most over used words is "amazing" but I think in this case his mental attitude has given him amazing physical abilities that is below the norm for his predicament. Thanks for sharing! It really does make one think about the silly things we fret on in life and how silly all the whining is over frivilous stuff. THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

What a great documentary! Knew he was a living legend but never knew how much of a living legend he is!! THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

Why I jump? I think its the comraderie with diverse group of people. It kinda like what I loved about the military. You put a bunch of different type of people/personalities; doctors, lawyers, hippies, geeks, rich, poor all together and we can function as a team. It just works; even though on this site you get some really narly answers at times I think for the most part everyone genuinely cares that you are successful and wish you the safest and fun endeavor possible. It is a very positive environment comprably to the other worlds we live in day by day. There is a competitive nature, but I dont believe its as cut throat as other things in life. Skydiving itself is a challenge. Something out of the norm that allows you to have a different experience each time, while having some type of familiarity to it as well. For the people that work at DZ's I can only assume its the old adage, if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

The skyrider is expensive for what it is..I stayed at a team room last time and when you are sharing with 3 others it isnt bad a bad price at all, but it is a trailer with bunkbeds, no frills, but definately the basics. I say the ideal thing is calling the DZ to see if other local jumpers have rooms for rent. They are usually really inexpensive, nice accomodations and gets you the inside track of meeting local jumpers, make fun jumps or let you know where the hot spots are around town. THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

good point! THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

First off thanks to everyone for each of your advice. I am just feeling a little overwhelmed in regards to the recent incidents, watching students with 20 jumps land without popping up and sliding in and me scratching my gear up; I dont want to hurt anyone or myself due to being deficient. Krisanne-Yes I have a canopy course scheduled with Brian Germain end of May. I did one last year as well and definately improved, but you are right repetition is the key to success. Yeah unfortunately due to work and family schedule a team is not in my near future. I think some of the skill thing is due to cessna DZ..you jump with who's there and when you can get between a tandem. Its often different people each time. The DZO recently stated he wanted to jump with lower number of licensed jumpers more cause I think he sees us struggling; its just hard for him to fit us in with the quantity of other students(tandem and AFF) Dave- In regards to spotting- I think my biggest issue is I am not good a judging distances visually and I honestly cant feel tell wind direction (unless its strong) without the socks, etc. but you are right I haven't asked for specific instruction; I have been trying to figure it out on my own. I've asked questions like where are we getting out, but didnt ask how the decision was derived. I passed my spotting portion of my "A" by remembering where the spot was. I didnt take the personal responsibility to inform my instructor I still didnt understand how it was calculated. Its on me and I should have spoken upp. Next time I'm at the DZ I'm going to hook up with someone and get detailed re-instruction. I will let you know how it pans out. No, I haven't read Brian's book, but am attending his canopy class next month where I will receive one. Muffie- great idea...i have one guy I have over 25 jumps with but we do add others in all the time which does change things. We like each of the other up jumpers a lot as well and dont want to leave someone out. its a small DZ and we are limited on number of up jumpers ..know what I mean? Roy- Your post put things into perspective-I know even with hundreds/thousands of jumps I will still always be a "student" as I am in life as well. I was just getting scared due to the incidents as of late and watching students land better than me. Again, thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. I got a call today stating my gear has been repaired, so I hope to get up in the sky soon and not allow Mr. Wind grab me in the future *fingers crossed* THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

I use my chest strap and wrap it around the reserve handle then I secure the tail of the chest strap just as I do before i jump. It works really well and i have to unwrap it to put the rig on THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

I have over 140 jumps and after some self evaluation and looking at all the recent incidents that I want to start over. During my student progression I was a mutt of a student, jumped at difference DZ's with several different instructors with time lapsing between jumps; took me 2 yrs to complete my "A". Last year I made over 90 jumps. I've read the SIMS a few times, have over 2 hours of tunnel time and have attended 1 canopy course and am scheduled for another with Brian Germaine. But with all of this I still feel I am lackluster and deficient in knowledge and skills. I still cant spot worth a crap. I know my home dropzone visuals but am clueless how to figure out a spot. I dont land "off", but on average I land more than 30 ft further than I plan. Due to this I ride my brakes until I count everyone on the load are either in the pattern or landing before I approach my pattern. My RW skills are probably the best of all my skills and they are still work in progress. I recently scratched my gear pretty badly by Mr. wind dragging me across tarmac cause of my piss poor landing skills. So long story long, is it crazy to want to start over and take a structured course again? or should at this point just give up and realize this sport isnt for me? I love the comradarie, I love the feel of the wind in my face and I love the exhileration I feel when that door opens. I WANT to live long in this sport and dont want to be another statistic, but maybe wanting isn't enough. I know I might get blasted for posting this type inquiry in the forum, but I am on a serious quest to figure out what my next step should be. Fear is not something I'm used to shying from, but maybe this one might be the one I should. THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

+1 THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

Agree!! This Saturday I had 3 jumps with 5 landings due to Mr. Wind. Thought I could handle what I assessed to be a 17mph wind (appears i was inaccurate in my assessment. NOTE: know what each windsock is actually rated for) Had a great both feet down landing, then a nice 15' launch back up with another nice both feet down landing then came the real fun part a nice 30' ride across the grass through the asphalt taxiway and back into the grass. Luckily only damage to me was my pride, but my gear took a beating. Right leg strap ripped to shreds, burn marks on my right flaps of my container, tore a hole through my reserve portion of the container and ripped my reserve enough that it needs 3 patches, my jumpsuit has a nice section of small and large holes and my pants underneath have some nice small holes and road rash burns. (note jumpsuit was just purchased in january..argghh!!) I have grounded myself (well my gear did a good job of doing this for me), set new wind limitations for myself and decided I need to attend another canopy course so to try to not repeat my VERY EXPENSIVE mistake in the future. I'm super excited that a doctor visit wasnt required!! So new jumper Please dont learn this lesson the hard way. IT IS MUCH BETTER TO DOWN HERE WISHING YOU WERE UP THERE THAN UP THERE WISHING YOU ON THE GROUND. Good luck on your progression!! THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

Murfreesboro, TN just north of Nashville have some good trucker areas that are lit up and safe. also, Bowling green, KY about an hour north of Nashville around exit 22 is a safe area and plenty of places to eat too. But just as the other poster stated along the expressway anywhere park in a nice lit area and you shouldnt have much issues. Not many ppl hanging on a corner waiting for you to show up with gear for them to grab. Have a safe trip! THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

+1 Best answer yet! THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

It appears that a Jaden Smith did die, but it's a snowboarder not Will's Smith's Jaden. this is based on the twitter boards, so i could still be wrong, but there is many clarifying it is not THE JADEN that passed, it is another with the same name. Either way its a sad day for this young man's family THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

"loaf of onion rings"???? what pratell is that? THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

Nope; they didnt touch the reserve when I had mine modified. THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

+1...I can handle people much better than the dogs. I like dogs, but dont like little claws near my chute. I heard a few weeks ago a dog relieved him/herself on someone's gear. THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

now that is some funny stuff! THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

FYI: I sent my rig to Aerodyne on 1/20 and I just got it back today 2/2/11; only 7 working days; talk about a quick turnaround!! Yeah it looks like they reshaped and reduced the size of the plastic part in the closing flap. THANKS AERODYNE!!!

Not extreme enough for ya try this!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOUU1117yfk I know it is probably fake, but what a crazy concept. I cant believe this hasnt been posted before, but I couldnt find it in the search feature...amazing! THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

that's not cool at all! Hmm, I would talk to Greg, see what he thinks. Are you now 210 with gear now or even lighter? If you look at Germain's website he has a WL chart there as well in order to make you feel more comfortable with your decision; even if you are 210 out the door now (roughly your weight + 35 lbs for gear stuff) a 230 should be okay. there's a chart on page 151 in the SIM's too that looks like 230 would be acceptable I know different manufacturers measure differently but in looking at the pulse's recommendation chart it also shows a 210 exit weight to be the maximum weight to jump a 230 for a "novice", so this is on the bubble. Call Greg get another opinion, but it looks like you may want to change your order. Depending on what day you ordered or if you ordered a stock canopy and or custom colors you should be able to change this at no charge. If you want to change and you can't get a call back from him, I would just call the company you ordered it from. Whichever, you do you need to decide quickly so you dont get locked in further than you are now. http://www.bigairsportz.com/pdf/bas-sizingchart.pdf Good luck! THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

you asked for advice on a public forum, so i responded with what I thought would be helpful advice based on not only the DZ gossip, but MY opinion of the date of your first jump and to the date of now. Unfortunately injuries do happen, but based on the above fact I said I would take that into consideration when making recommendations. I have no idea what your and the DZO's conversation was nor his opinion regarding any of these posts; I have not spoken to him about your abilities etc. Thats between you and he. I also said "correct me if I am wrong" regarding the canopy which you did; therefore, if you have been jumping the 250 then I change my opinion that jumping from a 250 to a 230 is easily done and from a 250 to a 210 still should still be downsized slowly and appropriately, even with weight loss. With you losing the weight you will fly a little differently, not saying you will be unstable just your body imputs will vary slightly. You are right no one knows you lost 30lbs; that should have came into play when talking to Jim regarding canopy size. but if you were uncomfortable with his recommendation then why did you purchase before asking this question? I assume you both discussed WL etc. What did he give you as the reasoning he wouldnt let you jump a 230 for at least a year? With losing this weight, I would assume you should be good with a 230. did he give you any reasoning? I bought new as well, not trying to talk you out of a new rig by any stretch of the imagination, cause I know how that student gear feels and it sux. I was just saying that if you know for sure you want to be on a lower main earlier than maybe a used main would have been a good idea, just trying to save ya some money. I may be a little anal on the conservative side, but unfortunately I have seen some awful things happen the past couple years of people being gung ho before they are ready and I dont want to observe any more than absolutely necessary. Lastly, you are right there are some really experienced skydivers there with a lot more experience than me; what did they say regarding the 230? THRIVING IN MY DASH!!

Bobby- since you are still on student status the DZO could only recommend you to buy based on your current skill level; you got a few more jumps to complete, right? Plus so far your jumps have been sporatic, so there may be a concern that you may not stay current. - not sure if the DZO actually considered this, but I would have taken these into consideration when providing you recommendations. Pulse WL chart states 260 for 195 lb student or 230 lb novice; 230 states 172 lb student or 210 novice, which currently you are a student. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe you have been jumping a manta 288. So you are going from F111 to a great novice rig (IMO), but a 230 would be a fairly significant WL increase. Going straight from a 288 to a 230 is not in anyones best interest. I admit the reduction choices at that DZ to jump is limited because it is small, but there are ways to demo mains and also other DZ's you can pay a visit to that has a larger selection to help you downsize safely. Its not disloyal to your current DZ to visit other DZ's to demo other canopies in order to make sure you purchase what you will enjoy. In the long run it will make more money for your home DZ if you buy what you enjoy and not break any major bones in the process, plus selfishly I will have ppl to jump with if you stay What size javelin did you get? What is its max and min mains it can fit? More importantly, What size reserve did you order? Hindsight being 20/20 if you insisted on buying a new rig verus a used one I would have recommended go ahead but to buy rig with reserve etc. that could fit the 230 / 210 as well, but only buy a used main, since you will most likely want to downsize to a 230 / 210 later. Note: if you just placed the order last week, you may have options to change things, maybe remove the main from your purchase and look for a used main in order to save you some dollars for your ready for that main you plan on jumping for a long time. Again, I recommend you downsize slowly, you want to be able to jump for a long time. PM me if you want to talk more about it. Just for the record I have over 100 jumps and I jump a WL of .98. I want to be under all types of conditions under my current canopy and know how to handle my canopy accordingly before I even consider going down to a 1:1. THRIVING IN MY DASH!!