Namowal

Good point. I call it the "freight train illusion" because the same thing happens when you're standing near the tracks watching a train approach at a steady speed. It seems to float in the distance and suddenly zoom up, but it is, in fact, not accelerating. There was zero wind that day, so that might have been part of the problem. Thanks for the suggestion. :) My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Thanks and congrats on the new rigs. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Here's what happened on my first solo. When I posted my tandem cartoon up here a few months ago, little did I know I'd one day be posting cartoons about jumping out of the plane all by myself. Who knew? My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

I live near one airport and work near another (Los Angeles International). One of my everyday treats is that I get to see and hear airplanes all the time. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

I did mine at Elsinore. That makes two of us!

That sunk in with me not long after passing AFF level 8 (my DZ has eight steps instead of 7) recently. At first I was thinking "Yay! I did it!" then it occurred to me that I was still a noob with a lot to learn. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Well, if you ever decide to take Manhattan, let us know. We want to watch. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

That'd be cute if there was a Parachuters Under Phorty Society called "PUPS". Then again, I'd be to old to join it... My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

I would have liked to have seen your cartoons on your skydiving progress before I did my AFF - they reflect my experience almost perfectly...

This too makes sense. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

I'm that way too. Sounds like a good plan to me. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

As a follow up to my "what did you learn the hard way" question... ...what things did you do (or focus on) as a beginning jumper that paid off in the long run? What helped you progress? What kept you safer? (Thanks to Artwardo for suggesting the question.) My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

That's a very good idea. I'll do it! Sounds like wise words to me. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

I bet that's a common situation: The student is enthusiastic and wants to share, swap stories, and suggest- [insert record scratch sound here]. Good reminder! My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Uh oh, what happened? Good point. I've heard about this kind of thing. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

When I was growing up my little brother received a quasi-advent calender about a week before Christmas: A box of small candy canes, one for each day until the big day came. I remember this conversation: Little Brother: "Mom, how many days till Christmas?" Mom: "Five" Little Brother (after checking his candy cane supply): "Nope. It's three" My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Thanks for all the responses. You guys (and gals) rock! My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Hi there, Now that I've passed AFF level 8 and ready to start solo and coach dives, I'm curious about the learning progression of experienced divers as they went from where I am now to where they are now. What did you learn the hard way? What did you wish you'd focused more on at the beginning? Did you have any bad habits? "Blind spots" in your skills and knowledge? If you could go back in time, would you do anything differently? p.s. While I'm truly curious about this, I still plan to run any advice (including "I should have done X" anecdotes) by the instructors before trying them out. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Wow, that's some first solo! Between what you've learned from instructors and what you picked up from Skydive Radio, it sounds like you were super prepared. Nice work! My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Technically, I believe it can, but I've had trouble getting it to download and open. (I'm very new to the Kindle so it may be a matter of me figuring out how to do it correctly). Quote My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Is there a version of the latest SIM that can be downloaded like a Kindle book? There seems to be phone app and pdf versions available for download, but nothing my Kindle will recognize... ...I think the answer is either "no" or "not yet," but I thought I'd check just in case. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Heh heh. From what I've seen, packing looks as complex as stuffing an angry Giant Pacific Octopus into a tiny suitcase- even if you get him in there, he may enact revenge on the way out unless you did it just right. Wish you lotta fun for your next jumps. Weather permitting (which is just the problem in Thuringian winter) I should also be able to do some occasional fun jumps but apart from that I'm sort of envious you can jump Thanks. It's sunny in So. California, but a bit too breezy for student jumps (at least that's what the weather channel predicted), so I grounded myself this weekend. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Heck, I'm just glad I didn't flop around like a tumble weed. (Before the jump I asked the instructor if an accidental front roll counted as the forward loop, but he said no.) Too bad there's not a safe and efficient way to exit the plane and be hauled back in again, so you could get extra practice. Heh heh. I suspect the Fear and Inner Critic characters will have a field day with that one! My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

Well, the cartoons about my tandem were divided into two parts (a link at the bottom of part one). Is this what you're looking for?

Agreed. My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.