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Thank you very much for that. I'm sure others are grateful for the attachment as well. Fly safe! -- Raul Ruiz 'A' License Wannabe

I told my parents about my first jump a couple of days after I did it. I signed my brother up for a tandem jump for his 18th birthday and I decided to go with him, so we ended up doing 2 tandem and did video and photos on both. After we did the jump, we were both hooked and decided to continue jumping doing a course at the DZ. I couldn't keep the secret from my parents at the time, especially since I was living with them. About 3 days after our tandem, I sat my mother down and showed her the video. It looked as though she was going to have a heart attack. To my surprise, amazement, and every other synonym you can think of, she actually asked that we tell her when we were jumping again so she could go watch us! Every week she was asking if we were going to the DZ that Sunday so she could pack some food and watch us land. Yes, I have a very cool mother! -- Raul Ruiz 'A' License Wannabe

Yes, I do have 25 jumps, but these weren't your typical 25 jumps. I started training, then stopped, started again, then stopped (because of money issues when I was a college student). So I've accumulated 25 jumps without really any consistency. It's the main reason I want to start from square one. The DZ where I started my course charged for the packing class. It wasn't terribly expensive, but I never got around to it because of the stopping and starting. I wish the packing course were free, but I understand why it wouldn't be in the grand scheme of things. Thanks for your feedback! I appreciate it! -- Raul Ruiz 'A' License Wannabe

Hi everyone. I'd like to formally introduce myself here in the forums as I get back into the sport and the community. I am from Miramar, Florida, just a couple of miles northwest of Miami (or southwest of Ft. Lauderdale). I have 2 DZs relatively close by, Skydive Miami and Skydive Air Adventures in Clewiston. I have yet to decide which DZ I will do my student training at. Tough choice :) I started my training back in 2005 and got about 25-27 jumps under my belt. Since I was a student, money was tight, so I eventually decided to finish my pilot's license before I did any more skydiving. Well, I finished my pilot's license a year ago and I'm going to make good on my promise of getting back into the sport. I figured that it would probably be best to start from the beginning despite my previous "experience" in the sport. I just have to figure out which DZ I'm going to do it at. I've heard great things about the DZ in Clewiston, but Skydive Miami is where I originally did my jumps. I'm torn

As a student, I'm anxious to know as much as possible about our sport. To that end, I bought the "Packing Made Simple" DVD. It's a great DVD for someone like me to learn how to pack a canopy before I even take the course at my DZ. I figure it can't hurt to know a little about it beforehand so I can make my instructor's life easier. The DVD shows you the pro pack, flat pack, and psycho pack. My question pertains to how differently these packs perform upon deployment. The DVD is great at explaining how to pack using these methods, but doesn't have a word on how they perform on opening. What are your experiences in packing using different methods? Is there any hard and fast rule regarding which pack is better for which situation? I'm sure I'll ask my instructors this questions when I take the packing class, but as I said, it can't hurt to know a little beforehand. Thanks in advance! -- Raul Ruiz 'A' License Wannabe