Trafficdiver

In fairness most of the shitty and mediocre skydivers I know are assholes too.

I regress all the time, especially when pushing the limits of my abilities...But I don't get more tense. I think there is a difference. Plus the first 10 or so jumps are a mass jumble of emotions so it's hard to differentiate which one is more tense. I miss those feelings. AFF is such a beautiful, life affirming process. Enjoy this fear as it will go away and you will miss it. Until your first night jump of course .

I stood up jump d1. That was the first and last one I stood up til jump 30 or 40 as I recall. I screw up a landing here and there if there is no headwind or a crosswind, but it's rare and I have a slew of good excuses now. I also have a ton of cordura on my jumpsuit to make up for my own mistakes. As for relaxing imagine yourself as a dishrag flopping in the wind. The more you jump the better and more relaxed you will get. I have never seen anyone get more tense and their jump numbers increase.

Couple of suggestions (though you will Need to drive east and north for some) Vermont Skydiving adventures (small, Cessna DZ with great vibes and views) Skydive New England (mid size dz with great vibes and views) Skydive the Ranch ( large dz with great vibes and shit ton of freefliers)

Before I let someone pack my canopy I like to put a mirror under their nose to see if they can fog it. If they pass that it's game on. At that point they are probably going to give me a better opening than I will and they will probably sweat 1/4 as much as I would. If it goes to shit and I have to chop it I will probably only give them two or three more chances before I pack it myself. Yeah...sometimes people die but it's so rare. From what I read about Lodi it was a completely freak accident so I would not sweat it if I were you. Getting skin cancer walking back to the LZ is a much more realistic issue for my pale ass. If you are a lawyer PM me because I have several insulation companies I want to sue the shit out of.

What if that person has Madd Skillz?

Backflying is freeflying so at most DZ's I go to it is after belly fliers. Large groups first, smaller after. Keep in mind you can reach high speeds on your back if you fold at the hips.

Have you considered testicle reduction surgery? It's gotta be tough walking with those after a while?

I didn't say they weren't fun. Getting them down..... for me anyway. Smashing into the wall is fun too...right?

And back we go to the FAA. Why do they waste so much time with something they have no control over? "Let's charge an orbit fee for the International Space Station every time it passes over our hemisphere? " I do like the description of Kimmie in the comments though.

I went there last year and was immediately pulled in on jumps. Friendly people and an extremely efficient operation. The climb to altitude in the King Air is quite an experience!

Unless they bust her for fraud or contempt, she isn't going to jail. Though a psychiatric hospital just might be the best place for her Think of the poor mental patients she would torture...

I never thought I would get it either. Keep practicing....one day you will be able to. Took me hours and hours. Not sure how many because I don't log them and my brain has blocked out the torture.

***The sexiest style of HU flying I've ever seen goes to Martin. Black helmet, black visor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5H3W8oe5Bg

This thread has been going on for much longer than any relationship I've ever had. I don't know how I would live without it. Never quit Kimmie, it would leave a void in all of our souls. Just kidding, please go away forever.

I've had my Vertical suit for 3 years or so and its held up great. It's the raptor ( or maybe the viper, I forget ) with as much cordura as possible I'm 5'11' 220. Well worth the $$.

I've never had a bad one...Oceanside, CA does stick out in mind though.

Wow, lost both instructors on the strut then got back in the plane? That's the first time I've heard of that. Glad to hear you went back up and got it! Nothing better than overcoming a crazy experience like that. Good luck on your next one!

http://norcalalliance.com

Sounds awesome!

How do you know if you are ready for AFF? An easy way to tell is if you start threads on DZ.com like this... ...you are definitely ready. Anymore questions?

Concrete rebound hammer cannot be created or destroyed.

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet...including skydiving instructions and humility.

I am not an instructor and I have no idea what I'm doing. That being said, when I was on cat c2 I could not stop turning either. My body was actually not straight, I was leaning left with my upper body. That makes it tough to stop the turn or go right. I found this out by going to the tunnel and having them video tape me and working out my problems. So basically this is a long winded way of me agreeing with the first post. You can figure out in the air what is wrong and how to fix it, but you can do it much faster in the tunnel. This goes for every level of flying.

occasionally I won't wear a helmet for a HNP or helicopter jump but other than that it's always on and strapped.