egloskerry

Actually, I do swallow on the way up. I'm used to an airliner, where they are going to pop eventually. Since I'm only at altitude for 5-10 minutes, I guess they might not have a chance to pop. I'll give it a try. It'll be like natural earplugs. Up to this point I've needed to hear my instructor, so that's probably why I've been doing it.

That's about half of what Skyventure charges, then. I thought they were kinda high. I guess it's good if you want to cram a lot of training into a short time, without the non-freefall parts. 20 minutes of freefall would take a while...

Sky, how much do they charge for tunnel time? The only place even close to me is Skyventure in Orlando, which is $45 for two minutes. I don't really have any interest in doing it, but I have some friends who are too scared to actually jump, but they'd like to go in the tunnel.

Man, you guys are scaring me, and I'm not even the OP! In my case, I think it's because I have a benign tumor in my right sinus. My ears are popping about an hour or two after I get down now, so I think I'm ok.

I have a friend who wants to do a tandem. She has juvenile arthritis, so most of her joints are very stiff. Imagine having splints on everything: kinda what it's like. She's also very, very small, on the order of 65-75lbs. I am gonna take her down to the DZ one day to have a talk with a TI, but I was just wondering what special considerations she needs to expect. The only difficulty I could see her having is raising her legs for landing. I'm not sure how well she is able to do that. Thanks for your input.

Only jumps to go are my E jumps! Turning is fun!

The problem here is that it's x64. If an x64 compatible version isn't released, you're SOL. Might want to run a dual boot system.

I have had my ears hurt a lot after a plane ride before. As it is right now, it takes my ears a day to pop sometimes after I get off the plane. It has started getting better, though, I guess from all the up and down.

Lol skymama, that's the way to encourage. "A TV? Nah, you don't need that. You can listen to the radio! A car? Take a bus! Food? Ramen noodles are excellent!"

Completely agree skycamefalling. I get nervous on the ride up, and even moving up to the door, to the point where I am staged and feel the wind hitting me. Once I jump, I'm fine. Monkey, you will love it. You're overloaded on your first jump, so you don't really know what to think. You'll enjoy the next ones a lot more.

The best place to go for advice is your instructor. Folks here are definitely very experienced, but there are different views on how to do things. Better to learn everything from one source, or at least one DZ. And, every DZ is different, so their training progression and other stuff may be a bit different from what you hear on here. Also remember that you can't verify who someone is online, or if they know what they're talking about. Great to have you in the sport. I have my C-2 jump tomorrow, and hopefully my D-1 jump as well.

LOL that is the first thing I thought of when I saw that! I guess the Chinese are further along in their manned spaceflight than we thought.

I'd recommend to do a tandem first, at least one. It makes the first AFF go a whole lot smoother, because you've gotten the freak out part out of the way, at least for me. My instructor was glad I had gone on a tandem beforehand. Just think of it like would you drive on a crowded highway in rush hour on your first time driving? You'd be scared shitless.

Well, not that far back at all, after my first jump (tandem), I asked my instructor what the bowling balls were for. He replied "Bowling, what do you use them for?" And my AFF instructor, while it was raining "It hurts because you hit the pointy side of the rain"

Lol I got the bumper sticker. L3 is half done. I'm perfectly stable alone. I was drifting a bit, but they were saying that even most of them can't hold a perfect heading. Had my first malfunction (line twists). Cleared it perfectly. Next jumps are this Friday!

My first jump was at SSC, too. Welcome.

I ended up jumping the next day. Freaked out a bit right on exit, but I guess that's normal for any first jump. The instructor said my CoA was a bit lazy, but my practice touches were fine, and my bottom end sequence was great. I also have great pody position. I had a bit of trouble with the landing sequence, as I didn't drop as quick as I thought I would. I PLFed perfectly, as I flared a bit high. They said all in all, it was a great first jump. I'll be doing my second on the 15th. I have a question about the USPA membership. Is there a bumper sticker in the welcome pack? Because I'm a bumper sticker kinda person.

Well, I finished my Cat A training. I didn't get to jump because of a very low, thick deck. I should be going tomorrow. Palatka is very friendly, and a lot more laid back than Space Center, but I guess that's because SC mainly deals with tourists. Even better, I got the UF discount even though I go to SFC. Looking forward to making that first jump tomorrow.

What are the skills after the 7 AFF jumps? Or do I learn that in the AFF classes? @thrillstalker - The money isn't a problem. I'm fanatic about saving, so I have managed to save up a fairly large "fun fund". It's just that spending such a large amount of money goes against my Jewish blood.

Yeah I noticed that Palatka rents gear for the day. I could easily jump from open to close. I've emailed them about prices, so I guess I'll wait to hear from them. I know an A is 25 jumps. Does the tandem I just did count?

Just made my first jump (tandem) two days ago. I'm very mad at myself that I waited five years to do it. Even though I've only had one jump, I think I could live in the sky. Did the tandem at Skydive Space Center in FL. It was great to see the launch pads from 15k. Unfortunately I won't be going back there, at least not soon. It was an awesome DZ, along with everyone there, but at around 2.5 hours driving, it's kinda far, even though the view can't be beat. My tandem instructor, Nick, was great fun, along with my videographer, Ki. Skydive Palatka will be my home DZ for a while. It's where I'm going to do my AFF once I get the nerve to plunk down the money. I'm hoping to do it within the next month. I have a question about AFF. I see that after you finish your progression, you are cleared to jump solo. I am assuming that is only at that DZ, as you don't yet have your A? If this is correct, would the fee for further jumps be just the gear rental (if needed) and the jump ticket? I realize I'm looking at around $2000 to get my A. I do have to put one shameless plug in here. As many people say skydiving is a "once-in-a-lifetime" thing, I have something else for you that falls in the same sort of experience: see a shuttle launch. If you're near Cape Canaveral or will be in the area, please try to make one of the launches. There's only three left, and then you will never have another chance to see one.