absane

I don't know... but, would you want to jump with these guys? Don't forget to pull!

Road trip from Atlanta to Alaska... first travel up the East Coast then cut west through Canada... come back going south through CA and head back East. Backpack around the world... doing it the hard way... hitchhiking yachts, cargo ships, and catching rides on shady buses. Work in Antarctica for 6 months. Climb Mt. Everest. Of course, I can't do any of this sitting on the computer. Don't forget to pull!

Congratulations on passing 6. Now, did your instructor seems like he was in a hurry? How were your other jumps? What did you have to improve on from those? I got advice on every AFF jump except 7. Before then, I was reminded about altitude awareness, my legs, etc, my canopy flares, etc. But AFF 7 was, at least as far as my instructor was concerned, perfect. I guess lots of sleep and mental rehearsal paid off. That doesn't mean I didn't get advice later on by coaches and all. Don't forget to pull!

I must be one of those cautious types. Personally, I'd love to read an "I told you so" thread. Back when I was doing AFF, I couldn't help but watch videos of skydives gone bad... shitty AFF jumps, malfunctions, etc. It suited my personality quiet well... because I learned from them. Of course... I know how to put my ego in check. Some people, just can't do that. "Oh no man, that won't happen to me ever..." Don't forget to pull!

You serious? This whole time I've been just jumping out and hoping for the best! Skydiving fun man... it gets better every time. Don't forget to pull!

It took me 6 months to get my A license with 26 jumps. Some get it all done in 2 weeks. It really depends on how much time you have and what you can cash flow. Don't forget to pull!

No, not at all. Stick to your guns, man. I mean, why should you be the one to settle? Don't forget to pull!

Well, it's just an estimate I've seen. If you go to a boogie, you are very likely to see a few cutaways. But, this has to do with having a large sample size (# of jumps) than cutaways being very likely for a single individual. On one of my AFF jumps I was under my canopy when I watched a guy cut away. It seems that most people tend to have their first around 600-700 jumps. Two of my friends just had a cutaway, actually. One at about 480 jumps... the other at 600 or so. However, both of them let a packer do the job for them. I let a new packer do mine and my 'chute opened with line twists followed by a fast spiral. Fortunately, I was able to fix it and not cutaway. If you learn to pack for yourself, your odds will improve that you don't have to cut away because some packers don't jump at all... hence, they can be sloppy, But, if we assume the 1/1000 chance of a cutaway... that means that if you have made 700 jumps, there is a 50/50 chance that at least one jump involved a cutaway (basic probability math... I'm a math nerd). And, that looks about right. At 1,000 jumps, about 64% chance you had at least one cutaway. Some people have a cutaway on AFF 1 while some don't have their first cutaway until jump 5,000. Don't forget to pull!

Yeah I know how that is. I got done with ground school today and couldn't do jump one today because of the wind. Hopefully I'll have better luck tomorrow Heh... better than me. After ground school we flew up to 14,000 feet and the pilot called it all off right before the red light. Way too many clouds. Maybe they did it just to mess with my nerves a bit Don't forget to pull!

I just tell them that if I were insane, I'd be dead by now. But, I'm a normal guy. If you met me today and skydiving never came up, you wouldn't know I was a skydiver. Though, when people question my safety, I make it a point to explain what kind of training I went through, the kinds of instructors I had, and various other things (like jumping with 2 parachutes). Sometimes, I'll explain my emergency procedures. I've even went so far as explaining the odds when someone asks "what if both parachutes fail?" Well, there is about a 1/1000 chance of the main failing and about 1/2000 chance of the reserve failing. That's a 1 in 2 million chance both will fail on a single jump. That means there is a 99.5% chance that I can make 10,000 skydives without both failing. Going that far has usually been enough for loved ones to relax a bit. Of course, well before 10,000 jumps you could end up dead... either by doing something stupid or someone else doing something stupid. However, this risk is presented to us every single day when we drive our cars. With skydiving, you are staring death in the face every time you jump and the potential for death is very real. I can see it... 14,000 feet below me. But, the way I look at it is this: I'm more afraid of not living my life than I am of death. That's awesome... I liked that video. I enjoyed the music for the freefall, too. Don't forget to pull!

I won't date a woman with pointy knees. Don't forget to pull!

When I smell it, I get hard just thinking of all the satellite dishes that I can repair. Don't forget to pull!

Their knees are too pointy. All of them are 2/10 AT BEST. Yes, I've had better. LOL just kidding. Knowing that some are engineers makes them look hotter to me. Intelligence adds bonus points. Don't forget to pull!

That happened to me, actually. AFF 4 is when I spun. I went to do a 90 degree right turn and I started to spin out of control and I couldn't stop. My instructor grabbed my leg to stop me after I did four 360s . The trick I learned (and I carried this with me ever since) is to relax. It's not the easiest thing to do while falling towards the Earth at 120 mph... but when you're nervous, you tense up and make all sorts of unconscious body movements. Don't forget to pull!

I was fortunate enough to have parents that showed some concern for my choice to go skydiving, but they also supported my decision to do it. Maybe they knew in the back of their mind that they couldn't stop me anyway... heh. I did my AFF 1 jump and got it on video. They bragged to their coworkers about what I did and had to show the video to everyone they worked with. My mom will always tell me to "be careful" when I head to the DZ. My dad will ask if I did "any jumping" today... and says to have fun. If you go through with the AFF program, you might consider getting your first jump on video. That way, you can show your parents just how much safer it is than they might think it is. One thing that I also found helpful is to explain at what altitude you are pulling at, how many seconds that is from the ground, and how that's enough time to deal with an emergency. Like, when I was pulling at 6,000 feet... that was about 30 seconds to the ground (from freefall). That gives me about 25 seconds to deal with an issue if my main parachute isn't working. I was like "mom, 25 seconds is more than enough time to pull my cut away handle and then pull my reserve handle. And, if I am knocked out, my AAD will likely save me." At least, that conversation worked well for me. Maybe your mother will react differently than mine did, lol. Don't forget to pull!

I tried that once. "Man, I so want to go skydiving!" "I'll pay for it... aint no big deal." "Umm... well, you see, ... blah blah blah." Haha. Don't forget to pull!

That's totally me. Skydiving is the only hobby I've had (aside from hiking) that I found is worth spending half a tank of gas on for even one jump. In fact, I did it today when I got a late text saying "FREE GEAR RENTAL." haha. Got to work late because I had to make one jump. I've only had one friend so far actually go on a tandem because I peaked their interest. But, everyone else either says "I couldn't do that" or "I really want to" but doesn't seem all that serious about it. Skydiving must just be one of those things that can only happen if the person wants to do it for themselves. I went to the DZ all alone, did AFF alone, and completed my A license alone. I am slowly finding myself distanced a bit from my non-skydiving friends, actually. I don't know why that's happening, but I suppose that it might have something more to do with coming into my own self rather than tagging along with people I didn't have much in common with to begin with... I hung around them just because that's what I always did. They do things they do because that's what they think they should do or think it's what they want to do. I had the balls to step out of my comfort zone and it's paying off. I guess, as it may seem, they feel their ego hurt a little when they associate with me. Though, I do find it interesting that every time my skydiving comes up in a conversation, nine times out of ten, it's a female that's interested. And, the males tend to back away from it. Why is that... considering this is a male dominated sport? I really think that the people I know that say they want to go skydiving but never do... actually do want to go, but they are just like everyone else on this planet: they find comfort and safety in living in the rut they do. I had to put my comfort to the side and check my ego at the door to start skydiving. Not many of my friends are willing to do that. Don't forget to pull!

What's the problem with this? Hrm... well, if you do happen to like her and have feelings towards her (sexual, that is) and you try to come in from the side as wanting to be "friends," she WILL notice some incongruence in your behavior and will forever call you a friend or even worse, creepy. Why not be straight up from the get go? Tell her how you feel. But, here's the kicker: you must be fine with being rejected. A "yes" or "no" is totally acceptable. Too many guys are scared to own their attraction... and wonder why they strike out on a continuous basis. When I find a girl that I'm totally attracted to... I don't hide it. That's what I did with the last girl I dated. She had a boyfriend and appreciated that I stated the obvious instead of being weird about it like many guys do. Months later they broke up and we got together for a little while. Don't forget to pull!

Excellent advice. For my first solo dive off AFF was dedicated to doing nothing more than watching my altimeter and the ground. I've done a few jumps like this and it's really helped. Sure, it may not be cool or exciting... but it's an essential skill to learn. Don't forget to pull!

I committed this motto to my brain when I first started out: when in doubt, whip it out (the reserve! ). If I am at my pulling altitude, attempted to pull, and something doesn't feel right after 5 seconds, I'm not fighting anything. Save the AAD for a time when you're knocked unconscious. I guess that maybe if your AAD does fail at that time, you won't feel the splat. Don't forget to pull!

I pretty much told my boss the same thing, heh. I get every Friday off just to jump. Anyone that makes 1 jump and stays "current." Whatever current means... After my second skydive, I beat myself up for landing in a tree. My instructor calmed reminded me that few people in the world can claim 2 minutes of freefall and call themselves a skydiver . Don't forget to pull!

While I haven't had that happen yet, I started having doubts about my N2 giving me a proper readout on my last jump. Fell through a cloud (opps) and it went poo-poo. I don't trust my altimeter and I don't put my faith in an AAD. Don't forget to pull!

Doing multiple levels in 1 jump? I got that deal after I screwed up AFF 4. So we tried on my next jump to do AFF 4 and 5. Too bad it didn't work out Don't forget to pull!

Rent a pilot and buy a space suit Don't forget to pull!

I'm still new to packing... but after I got the hang of it, I found that I actually kind of like it. It used to be a pain in my ass and piss me off. Give me an hour and that shit still wouldn't have been in the d-bag. Now that I am down to about 30 minutes, I feel a great sense of satisfaction when I'm finished. I guess one thing that I don't like about skydiving is thermal updrafts. When I'm coming in for base and final and a thermal hits me, I nearly shit my pants. Don't forget to pull!