absane

Up north I'm sure they might close down around October. IDK... I live in the Southern US... we jump year round
I started AFF in the Winter. Falling at 120 MPH gave a wind chill of about -10 F or worse. Jeans + Jacket + Jumpsuit + Latex Gloves + Motocross Gloves and I was fine... lol.

When I first started jumping, the day after I'd start getting dizzy. A few more times of doing this I developed an inner ear infection. It turned out that my problem was similar to something I experienced when I flew on a plane for the first time in years: a sinus infection. Something about the air pressure dropping would do a number on my sinuses. After some antibiotics and a lot of rest, I no longer have this problem. My left ear still kinda hurts every now and then, but it's slight and passing.

I have never experienced anything health related while jumping, however. The only thing that I can add to your recommendation about not jumping while you're sick is this: don't jump when you're sleep deprived. I learned this lesson Friday

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dude, just use the student jumpsuits till you get your suit in... they dont mind. least you have yours on order, I was jumping student jumpsuits till like 70 jumps and they were ok with it ...

PS: were you at the DZ yesterday?

Yea, he was. He was actually on a couple of loads with me.

I'm looking into a suit myself right now. I am debating between an e-cheapo $180 suit that gets the job done.... or a $260 with booties and all the bells and whistles :p

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One other little thing. It also seems to me that A license certification should also include some basic 2-way CRW skills. Folks don't need to freak out if someone's canopy bumps into them. Coming in contact with someone else's canopy is not an immediate death sentence.

An experienced jumper who had thought I had my license actually flew right next to me in a side-by-side configuration. While he probably shouldn't have done it, I'm not one of those to freak out or get irritated over it. I just took it as a learning experience.

I told him on the ground I didn't even have my license yet (that was jump 25). He apologized but I told him it didn't bother me... I thought it was pretty cool. The same day, however, I got my A card stamped.

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http://www.basejumper.com

x2.

But, since you're here I will answer your question. 200 skydives is the general recommendation. But, I know that at Bridge Day, they are offering a course for those with 100 skydives. But, nothing stops you from starting with zero skydives... just don't be surprised if you're not very welcomed in the BASE community. It's a dangerous sport/activity that already has a bad name and they don't want to associate with people that make it look even worse.

So, make sure you gain a lot of experience. For example, don't be one of those skydivers that get's his license and then never packs his parachute. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with letting someone else pack for you, but if you're interested in BASE jumping, you need to learn everything you can about parachutes and the gear. After all, when you BASE jump, you don't have a reserve parachute. You have one shot to get it right and it's essential that you know your gear.

Take advantage of down time. Last night when the loads were done, I spent 3 hours just packing the same rig over and over again. One time I came in to skydive... I secured a rig, unpacked it, then repacked it myself before making my first jump. Also, another thing you can do is get with an instructor on the ground, pull the cutaway handle off the rig, and learn how to clean the cables and reassemble the 3-ring system. Granted, this may have nothing to do with BASE jumping, but it's essential (for your own safety) to be intimately curious about your gear and how everything works. (I actually had a BASE jumper teach me that that thing about the 3 rings). BASE is more than just jumping off a fixed object and pulling out a parachute.

Learn how to fly your canopy. It should be obvious... but, apparently it's not when I see some people learning to skydive.

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Just finished my first solo! I am on the next load...

Ahhh... are you the guy that's selling the motorcycle? If so, I never got your name man... Adam?

Just remember... track perpendicular to the jump run My heart kinda raced a bit when I pulled @ 4,500, looked up to see my canopy inflate, and I saw you a few hundred feet above me. It's all good though.

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If I were you, I would have my name or nick name stitched on either your cutaway or reserve handle.

Until the thief removes those handles... just sayin'.

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Fuck you !

I think on my AFF 3 jump... I was sitting in the back of the plane and this male tandem instructor, strapped on to a hottie, started to rub his hand up and down my leg.

She looked at me with disappointment. I'm still haunted by this event... Thanks a lot, Ted.

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Yup.. the repost police will be along at any time now

Sorry I'm late.

;) I used to be a big forum poster myself...

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I have only jumped once but not once did I have an ounce of fear.

That's extremely rare.

Yeah I thought so too. I have always been somewhat of an adrenaline junkie and honestly I was more excited than anything. The plane ride up, before exit, during free fall, not scared at all. In fact just about everyone else on he plane was nervous and second guessing doing it and I was just hoping they would hurry up and get out foe the way so I could go.

Get back with us after your secomnd jump, it is always scareier than the first..

True that... I didn't know what I got myself into until after the first jump. However, I will add that each time you go, it's more fun than the last!

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However, I have landed enough times to know that the winds can change dramatically, making it unsafe to land a pattern that's been established.

If you don't like the pre-planned pattern, feel free to land out in whatever direction you'd like. Otherwise, stick to what was planned beforehand for the entire load - for if you don't, the pattern is no longer predictable.

Well as I said, I always make sure I know (and that others know) which way we are all landing and which pattern we are following. On my last jump, though... we all agreed on landing south with a right hand pattern. Everyone ended up landing west with a left hand pattern because the winds picked up and changed direction. Honestly, I would have rather landed the way we were supposed to from the start... but a few instructors (and everyone else) landed west so I followed suit.

Maybe a better option is to say "screw it" and just land near the runway from now on... and just avoid the mess all together.

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AIf you're just in there flying for the heck of it, you will still learn, BUT, there is a tendency to let the student fly rather flat.

While that is very safe in the tunnel, it's very annoying to an AFF instructor in the sky A skydiving student needs to arch a bit more than the average brand new tunnel student.

Yea... I remember going to the tunnel for the first time and the only way that I could fly in there was flat. It wasn't something I was comfortable with because up until that point, I had the hardest arch you'd see any student flying with. Glad I moved away from that... because my fall rate was ridiculous. At least my instructors thanked me for making their lives a lot easier ;)

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None. Personally I think you get more out of both tunnel and AFF if you deal with them seperately. Once you have some jumps you will appreciate the tunnel a whole lot more.

bring flame now.

I agree. The first time I set foot in a tunnel was after AFF 5. Had I gone to a tunnel before AFF 1, I would have essentially wasted my money because the sensory overload I had during my first jump would have negated any skills I learned at the tunnel. Instead, I got used to the overload, and did 15 minutes in a tunnel. It really helped me as far as stability goes.

6 AM jump time? I wish I had one of those... lol.

Congrats! Hopefully you at least remember what went through your mind when you left the plane... I sure as hell did! Glad you had fun!

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I'm not going to try to defend this kid, but . . . who among us has never taken a car to 100 mph?

I have... and got pulled over. However, I didn't get a ticket. The cop had zero proof that I was and he told me that I shouldn't be doing 75 in a 45. I didn't try to correct him.

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There is something more to the accident than just the speed. To me, it looks like the kid was attempting to pass on the left shoulder and got distracted when he noticed he'd just passed a cop while doing so.

I've seen way too many close calls thanks to shoulder passers. In fact, I stopped in the middle of the road once because some geese were crossing. Some idiot flew past me on the shoulder going 45 and nearly killed them all. I've also come close to seeing some t-bone accidents because of this.

I voted for a predictable pattern AND "first one down sets the pattern. "

Yes, I'm new. However, I have landed enough times to know that the winds can change dramatically, making it unsafe to land a pattern that's been established. It happened on my last jump. But generally the winds don't change that much, so it's rarely an issue. I just ask that we establish that the pattern might change and that everyone be made aware of this. If the pattern might change, be sure everyone on-board knows this.

I always ask what direction we are landing and which pattern we are following. It seems to me that at my DZ, jumpers tend to overlook this. I have seen on multiple occasions jumpers landing in all sorts of directions. Do whatever you want on your load, but when I'm on the load, I want to make sure we don't kill ourselves on landing.

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I can't wait, and I'm ready to become part of the skydiving community and have great stories and experiences that you experienced jumpers have and share with each other.

Be sure to exaggerate them to your whuffo friends. Start out with "So, there I was, thinking I was going to die..."

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I mean really, why is the quality of a jump directly associated with how many times you can touch another guy in different places? This all just so happens to take place high up in the sky where no one can see you. Coincidence?

Before you can even take part in the sport you have to straddle a guy for 15 minutes while everyone else demands you get even closer. Even when your nuts are firmly pressed against the guy's ass in front of you, this is never close enough for everyone else.

When else is it socially acceptable, let alone "awesome!", to gently grab and hold another straight man's fingers?

4 way train?

Head down is the most awesome way to fly!

How many straight wuffos would be ok with wearing 'booties'?

How many sports require you to start training with a man strapped to you back face down? And you loved every minute of it.

Do you know any other place where color coordination is so important?

What else am i missing?

Let's pack each other's parachutes

Ok, point taken. That makes sense.

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I went to ASC because they offered me a much better deal on ground school and my AFF level 1 jump than any other DZ around here.

Other DZs could afford to lower their prices if their owners profited by lying, cheating, and stealing too.

Dave

Well, I don't know what incentive it would have been for them to offer a great deal. If skyride is strictly about screwing people over (as I'm sure they are), I don't see why they felt the desire to offer me a deal. They would have been better off trying to hook me into some tandem jump at an outrageous cost.

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Well, it appears that since you did not have the money to do the jump, you did yourself a favor by not getting scammed by the Skydive Panama City website. That alone should tell you that we are telling you the truth.

Oh yea, I know that ya'll are telling the truth. I can go to Google Earth, type "skydive atlanta," and see there are appear to be 10 or more dropzones around here. I know full well there are only 4 around where I live.

I wouldn't have been scammed by "Skydive Panama" anyway. All I cared about was an address. Then I was just going to show up, rent gear, and jump. Of course, a whuffo can't do that. They'd call them up, pay for a tandem, and then get screwed in the end.

I say I ran out of money only because it wouldn't have been worth my time and effort to drive 2 more hours for just one jump. Heh. I already had enough fun at the beach and I had a 5 hour drive ahead of me :)

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As for the instructors, Through all the info that I put out and all the hell I raise about sLyride, I have NEVER said anything about the quality of their training and their instructors. That's not my focus.

I DO however, slam them for their affiliation with sLyride. I have no doubt that there's some really good jumpers and instructors that work for the sLyride DZ's, but the fact that they work for sLyride and that they know what sLyride does and they willingly look the other way, that overshadows any good that they do for the sport.

Well, yes... I have to admit that my instructors are affiliated with skyride. Skyride should be stopped. I'd hate to think that some guy or gal that wants to get into skydiving might end up getting screwed by making reservations with this company.. and then never go back again. However, I don't see a compelling reason for me to stop going there. I've never been screwed and I'm not contributing to them screwing over other customers. Or... maybe I am... but only as much as driving my truck to a DZ contributes to regional pollution. I could stop going there, along every other experienced jumper, and that place would just turn into a tandem farm. The instructors could walk out... but, some new (and perhaps less experienced) instructors would fill those slots. Nothing is solved. It's the business, it's model, and their owners should be slammed... not the people that choose to jump there or instruct there.

I have a question though... isn't ASC changing names or ownership? They are starting to go by Skydive Georgia...

Don't forget to pull!

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3 days to go. Woo hoo.

I remember counting down to my first jump. For a whole week I kept thinking to myself "WTF... I'm jumping out of a plane in a few days!" I barely got any sleep the night before the jump.... maybe 4 hours? It was like I was 8 years old and excited on Christmas morning.

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I have no desire to do any group jumping, synchronized stuff. I don't get the appeal.

Honestly, I bet you'll change your mind. I'm generally not a big people person myself (I think I burned myself out with college parties). And, when I first started, I was excited to do the solo jumps. I found that I was getting bored. I started having fun again when I jumped with coaches and then when I got my license and learned how to do some less-than-educating exits and jumps just for shit and giggles. Plus, it's always good to have a reference point with you so that you know that you're doing maneuvers properly. Like, the ground isn't going to tell you shit about how good your side-slides are...

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Long term goal is to feel at one with a wing suit. I also want to get in to BASE, once I have enough jumps under my belt. Eventually I want to BASE with a wing suit. I know that's a huge goal, and will take a lot of time to get to, but honestly, it's more than just a whimsical goal, it's my life focus at this point.
I am thinking 5 years away if I can get enough jumps in.

There's a guy that I know that started BASE within a year. Wingsuit BASE will take years, however.

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I tend to believe that if the most recent new guys who posted and talked about their jumps at Cedartown had only done their homework and actually opened their eyes a bit and checked out the info that is available online as well as here on DZ.com, they would not have gone to sLyride, but rather gone over to the Farm.
Who knows, they may have intended to go to the Farm in the first place, but sLyride successfully intercepted them.

Well, as I have stated before... I went to ASC because they offered me a much better deal on ground school and my AFF level 1 jump than any other DZ around here. I knew nothing about Skyride until maybe a month ago to be honest. When I started, I looked up places to jump on DZ.com. I then visited their websites, found the best deal, and took advantage of it. All throughout my training, the instructors were always there to help me out when I had a question. I've only had one problem... and that's when I manifested for a load only to be forgotten about and they put a tandem in my slot. Oh well, shit happens. I'll let that one slide because the girls at manifest are cute.

I went to Panama City Beach last week for a vacation... while I was there, I thought about doing some jumping. Surely enough, there is a Skydive Panama City website. Funny how their site has no info for experienced jumpers. The DZ doesn't exist. I almost went to Emerald Coast... but i ran out of money :(

Now that I'm licensed, I do plan on jumping other places. My first stop is, of course, the Farm. It looks like a fun place and the field is much larger than what I'm used to. I figure it'd be a joke to land at STF given the stamp-sized field I always land in ;)

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You can count on the SIM to give you the bare minimum that a DZ is required to do, what they actually want to do beyond that is up to the discretion of each individual DZ.

The portion of the SIM that spells out recurrency training is not a requirement, as in it is not part of the BSR's. It is just recommendations. Dropzones would be wise to follow them to some extent but there may times when it is better left to the DZ's discretion.

I read a fatality report about a licensed skydiver that was inactive for years coming back into the sport and he did not do a recurrency jump. He jumped solo and ended up killing himself on his first jump via "no-pull." Witnesses said the guy was very nervous before the jump, too. I have no idea if it was suicide or brain-lock... but I wouldn't be surprised if it was brain-lock.

Point being: I think recurrency should be taken seriously at all DZs.

No where did I say recurrency should not be taken seriously.

I would like to read that report if you have a link to it. It should be in the fatality database.

Well, I wasn't really disagreeing with you on anything. The thing that kinda erked me some was the part where you said it's sometimes better left to the DZs discretion. Granted, I'm not completely sure what you meant.

As you requested, http://www.uspa.org/USPAMembers/Safety/AccidentReports/tabid/81/ctl/Detail/mid/785/Default.aspx?xmdata=Flo%2fmqBsTQcT3mC56MowUGij5ZSdCKDbkwVUg7JxepSdALF6sOJPVSA15VbCMDBplNVFhtZKXrg%3d. I was wrong about the "years" part... more like 12 months.

The only advice I give new jumpers is to RELAX and HAVE FUN! I've jumped with 4 different AFF instructors and they've all told me the same thing: let's go out and have some fun! It's you're skydive!

Welcome to skydiving... it just gets more and more fun with each jump :)