Divinfool

I was getting sore too and began to stretch well before my jumps. It made big difference. I have also started doing basic Yoga exercises and it that has really increased my flexibility. Congrats on the jumps. I am planning to finish my AFF on Thursday if the skies stay blue. Fear is the thief of dreams.....

Early nomination for the Darwin awards! Fear is the thief of dreams.....

I feel the same way...I was at church the other day sitting directly behind a rather large lady. When she stood up to sing, I noticed her dress had gotten stuck between her butt cheeks. Being in church and the nice guy I am, I gently pulled the dress from between her bum. She turned around and slapped me! So again, being the nice guy I am, when she turned around...I gently pushed it back in. That's when she hit me again! Man...you women don't appreciate anything! Fear is the thief of dreams.....

Do another tandem....tell the TI your intentions of doing AFF.... have him show you how to use the toggles and identify the holding area- then when you are under canopy you can get the feel for steering and finding the landing area. I'll be the first one to say I was terrified to jump out of a plane, but driven to do it. I'm only 8 jumps into AFF, but now I can't wait to stand in the doorway and fly. Don't let your mind make this into something it's not. Use the time up there to get away from thinking too much. Get the training and you will not believe how quickly you will be grinning in freefall. Good luck and Blue Skies! Fear is the thief of dreams.....

....just be prepared to start hiding purchases from your spouse and selling all your other toys..this is very similar to a crack habit...lol Fear is the thief of dreams.....

Welcome...the USPA site also has a tutorial that is awesome. Lots of information and video clips of all AFF jumps. Really helped me with the learning curve. Fear is the thief of dreams.....

Nope we are the Central Florida Knights (D-1 Conference USA)....we beat Boston College last weekend 30-3. Sellout crowd and super loud! Any UCF fans out there are welcome to stop by the tailgate party at MM 13 for some great chow and beverages! Fear is the thief of dreams.....

We are Huge UCF fans....season ticket holders and alumni. We do a great tailgate party at every game. Look for UCF to be this year's BCS buster! GO KNIGHTS! Fear is the thief of dreams.....

I'm 51....I did my first jump about 5 weeks ago with my son and daughter and am now doing AFF.... a huge learning curve, but great fun. Wish I would have started doing it in my 20's Fear is the thief of dreams.....

Study the Sim.......you can download it at the USPA site for free. I found their online tutorial to be very helpful and there are quizzes at the end of each part. Fear is the thief of dreams.....

I went in for the consult and met with the doctor along with his quite old nurse. I was pretty comfortable with her assisting...next day I go in for the procedure and there is this beautiful young blonde assisting my doctor ....quite humbling to say the least! I won't go into the details of how they prep the area, but I would have preferred the ol' girl would have done it. The short of it is (no pun intended)...... two days and some minor swelling and you are back to your old self ...no sweat Fear is the thief of dreams.....

You know you are in deep when you have Dropzone.com as the most used shortcut on your desktop at work! lol A great way to enjoy lunch more BTW. Fear is the thief of dreams.....

Deland would be my first choice, it's only about 40 minutes from Orlando....IMHO avoid Spacecoast simply because the instructors will be doing tandems all day and probably won't have much time for you. I'm working on my AFF now at Deland....PM me and I will give you the number of a great instructor at Deland that would probably meet you at the Orlando tunnel. Fear is the thief of dreams.....

I've done 3 marathons over 70 triathlons and an Ironman (more years ago than I will mention). Some of my graduate work was done in Exercise Physiology. IMHO five fingers are not for everyone. If everyone had perfect running form and foot plant, they would be great. I have super high arches and need orthotic inserts to correct my foot plant. If I ran in Five fingers I would have the worse case of Plantar fasciitis that would probably take 6 months to heal....but I have a friend that has done well over 30 Ultra-marathons in them and absolutely loves them. Fear is the thief of dreams.....

Like my ol' Irish dad says: May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields and, Until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand. Fear is the thief of dreams.....

Ditto on all the comments above.... everybody that says you have some sort of "death wish" have no clue about skydiving or the thrill of freefall, canopy control or landings (IMHO all are thrilling). As a newbie with only 3 jumps into my AFF, I learned a new term.....WHUFFOs...those are the people that question the sanity of a person that jumps out of a "perfectly good airplane". Forget em'...they are the same ones that will blow more money on a new big screen TV, sofa and loveseat than you ever will enriching your life in this awesome sport. Good luck with your training and like one of my instructors said to me "relax and enjoy...this is a song that you learn one note at a time...." Fear is the thief of dreams.....

I did my 1st tandem here and absolutely loved it. As a newbie, I noticed very few fun jumpers on the flights and it seemed like they were just "pumping out" the tandems and "fitting in" the veteran jumpers. When I decided to sign up for the AFF course, I realized that this DZ probably caters more to the tandems and may not be the best place for someone like me who likes the atmosphere and friendships of a home DZ. I started my AFF at another Central Florida DZ and am glad I did.

After doing a tandem at another Central Florida DZ, I decided to sign up for the AFF course. Decided on Deland and am glad I did. The atmosphere is awesome and they have lots of instructors available almost all of the time. After only 3 jumps I already feel like this is my "Home DZ". I am also very impressed with the prices in the shop. Most of them are as good or lower than online prices. I highly recommend Deland.

We use those lasers in our ditch bags when we do long offshore diving trips....they are incredible. One manufacturer states that they can be seen as far as 30 miles away during ideal conditions. Definitely useful if you were floating and needed to get a pilot's attention. Fear is the thief of dreams.....

Wow...very nice video. Gets the blood flowing! Fear is the thief of dreams.....

How about this one...."ok honey....would you rather I be a crack addict or go skydiving? It is totally up to you" Fear is the thief of dreams.....

Thanks! After checking out several DZ's, IMHO Deland was tops. My 1st jump was cancelled twice because of marginal winds...I'm ok with that. Like my dad used to say "Discretion is the better part of valor" lol Looking forward to meeting you and the Deland crew as well.... everyone I have met so far has been great. Mike Fear is the thief of dreams.....

Feel like a crack addict... Took my first tandem and just had to get back up there. Just completed my Level 1 ground school for AFF at Deland and have been waiting for the weather to cooperate for my first solo (hopefully Th.)...extremely stoked. In the past, I have been involved in all the crazy sports like motocross, spearfishing and diving for many years and finally found a sport that surpasses the adrenaline rush of the stalk of a big fish or a shark in your face. Now....how do I rationalize my gear purchases to my wife??! Fear is the thief of dreams.....

We screwed with one guy for weeks....we even had him wear his underwear on his head in a picture to prove he was real. You can get very creative with these guys. They are not real bright! lol Good response! Fear is the thief of dreams.....

It's Friday morning here (Central Fl) and the rain bands have been coming in intermittently. Gusts to around 20k....I expect late this evening will be our worst winds. Canaveral and Daytona are getting slammed with some juicy swells. I'm hoping the winds will die by Sunday....I finished my Level 1 AFF ground school on Wednesday just in time for the stronger winds, so I could not jump....got plans to do my first jumps on Sunday morning at Deland. Fear is the thief of dreams.....