Wish Me Luck!!

[Lrjtcaptain]

Well today I finally start AFF. (Accelerate Freefall) 8 solo jumps and Im certified.

Theres no such thing as a perfectly good airplane so dont give me that line

And the door comes open so thats why I jump.

Seriously though. Its so much fun. How many of you out there flying are jumpers?

 

[Aeronca]

I haven't jumped yet, but I am looking forward to when I can.

Good luck.

 

[EatSleepFly]

Good luck...its a blast. Wait until the first time you step out the door by yourself.

I did AFF back in early '01. Accumulated 68 jumps and my B license since...but am not current at the moment. Thinking about getting back into it soon, I miss it.

 

[skyking1976]

See if you can take a digital camera out the door with you and take pics of the jump plane in freefall. Good luck, BTW...

SK

 

[ShawnC]

Make sure the guy who packed your chute looks like he is happy. You wouldn't want to end up like this chap:

http://movies.lazyeights.net/Skydiving_Murder.wmv

 

[52Vincent]

I have not, but one day when $$$ permits. People I work with jump on a weekly basis, perhaps I will go up with thwm one of these days.

 

[52Vincent]

Oh yes, I almost forgot, GOOD LUCK

 

[Benny Hill]

Where will you be going thru AFF?

I flew jumpers for 3 years, learned to skydive, made a buttload of free jumps while I was an employee, and even met my wife while I was flying skydivers.

I thought that flying was fun and always wished that I had learned to fly at a younger age; when I learned to skydive I had that same feeling all over again.

Still current and jumping on a regular basis with my wife who can still fly circles around me!

HAVE FUN!!

 

[Lrjtcaptain]

ill be doing AFF with Skydive Santa Rosa

http://www.skydivesantarosa.com

Ive done tandem with them and I need to do this by myself.

 

[FracCapt]

Good luck man. I did my training back in '96...but not AFF. I did what is called IAD - similar to static line. When I hit 200 jumps, the fun was just beginning. When I hit 500 jumps, the fun was in full swing. When I hit 1000 jumps, I was still having a blast every time. Hopefully when I hit 2000(maybe sometime next year) I'll feel the same. Hopefully you have a long, safe skydiving career.

Oh, and don't try to imitate the schmucks like me that hook it every time on landing. I've got scars to prove it doesn't always work out. Don't be in any hurry to downsize canopies. I've got hardware in my leg to prove it's not always the smartest thing. I keep thinking that I don't jump enough anymore(maybe a couple hundred a year) to keep jumping the size canopies I'm jumping, but every time I land I realize that it's a hell of a lot of fun. A couple of times I've scared the bejesus out of myself(and anybody watching), but walked away. I've also been swimming in the pond a couple times...

Where are you doing your training? (Edit: nevermind that question...I saw you posted while i was typing this that you are doing it at Santa Rosa - never been there myself) Try to make it out to the WFFC( http://www.freefall.com ) at least once. I've been a few times, and going again this year...it's a blast.

A good resource for skydiving info is Dropzone.com. Check it out.

Since you're in the NorCal area, once you are licensed make a trip over to Byron. http://www.bayareaskydiving.com/ They've got an awesome group of jumpers out there.

 

[vossdr1]

Good luck! Take some pics for the avatar!

 

[DC4boy]

Skydive STS. I used to fly the 182 for them. Good bunch of guys.

Tell Doug, Brad says hey.

 

[Lrjtcaptain]

Well, im back at my computer so that means I survived AFF #1

Ill get some pics taken later on but now im more concerned about getting that pilot chute out. It was fun. Landing was pretty good. Ended up on my ass but it was kind of windy. Was supposed to jump a 300 but ended up in the 230 cause of the winds.

12000foot jump, the ground comes quick.

 

[FracCapt]

Was supposed to jump a 300 but ended up in the 230 cause of the winds.

230 on a first jump, when they originally wanted to put you on a 300? What is your exit weight?

 

[Lrjtcaptain]

185lbs.

winds were about 10kts at the surface.

 

[mattfish42]

I've only jumped once, eleven years ago. I loved it! I'm hoping that finances will allow me to do dome some jumping this summer.

I did the IAD instead of tandem, so haven't experienced freefall yet. Looking forward to it.

Do any schools still allow IAD jumps or is tandem the only option now?

 

[ThomasR]

AFF

I use to fly Army SF [Special Forces] jumpers and repel teams while in the National Guard. Also flew ROK Marine jumpers in Korea. I made three static jumps myself from a helicopter. Thank God for that static line.

The jump master had to make three commands before I could force myself to let go. Once I was out my brain lost all memory. I was spinning when the chute opened which caused the lines to twist above my head so I could not look up to check open silk. That caused considerable panic.

Once everything settled and I could see the chute was open OK the ride was fantastic; and then the ground came up and smacked me in my ass. After recovering from a numbing feeling you get when someone throws a solid uppercut to your jaw I realized I was being dragged across the airfield; the wind had caught the chute before it collapsed and set off on its own with me in tow.

I finally got to my feet and spilled the air from a corner of the cute to stop its wondering. I scooped it up in my arms and half limped back to the rendezvous point dirty, sore, aching and bruised in places I could not see. The jump master laughingly asked if I was ready to go up again.....and I said, OK.

I am not realy interested in going through that again. But, good luck and clear skys.

 

[FracCapt]

185lbs.

winds were about 10kts at the surface.

Your exit weight is 185lbs? So that would mean you weigh about 155...is that right? Or is your body weight 185?

I'm sure this was explained in your ground school....but exit weight is your body weight plus the rig plus whatever else you're wearing. Basically, put on all your gear(rig, jumpsuit, helmet) and step on a scale...that's your exit weight.

If your exit weight is indeed 185, then a 230 is fine. A 300 would be serious overkill, IMO.

 

[FracCapt]

Do any schools still allow IAD jumps or is tandem the only option now?

Very few schools do IAD. It never really caught on, so not many schools have ever used it. Tandem or AFF is pretty much it at most DZ's. Some still do static line, and very few still do IAD. Check out http://www.uspa.org , click "learn about skydiving", and read...then click on "Drop zones"(one of the tabs near the top of the screen) to find a DZ in your area. If you want my opinion, tell me what area you're in and I'll let you know if I am personally familiar with any of the DZ's in your area.

 

[navigator72]

dz

I fly jumpers on occasion. I have made my one jump (Tandem).
It is without a doubt the greatest thing you can do.............
This summer, I am planning on actually learning how to skydive.

 

[mattfish42]

If you want my opinion, tell me what area you're in and I'll let you know if I am personally familiar with any of the DZ's in your area.

A very generous offer! I live near Chicago.

 

[FlyFlyFly]

Congratulations! I made my first freefall in the AFF program in 1995 and by 97 had my AFF JM rating (about the toughest eval ever, makes any checkride look like a cakewalk) and later got my TDM (Vector). That said, always focus on a great skydive and a good landing. I jumped for 7 years and made almost 2,000 jumps in that time. Even worked as a JM full time for awhile.

I can tell you once the bug bites it doesn't let go easy. Have fun and stay safe and keep us filled in on how it goes!

Blue Skies!

 

[Lrjtcaptain]

when is a good time to buy my own stuff. Dont really know what is appropriate when it comes to equipment

Container, really dont care. What would be a good one.

Main, well im thinking anywhere between 190 - 210
with a reserve of about the same size
definatly a cypress

but when is a good time to buy one and what would be a good start rig but at the same time be a good one for a while?

 

[FracCapt]

A very generous offer! I live near Chicago.

Skydive Chicago(SDC) in Ottawa. http://www.skydivechicago.com .. Awesome place. I plan on spending a week there in early August for their SummerFest boogie. The owners(rook and missy nelson, brother and sister) are sh!it hot skydivers, both serious competitors - but the nicest people in the world. There may be closer DZ's to your location, but certainly not better than SDC.

 

[FracCapt]

A very generous offer! I live near Chicago.

Skydive Chicago in Ottawa. http://www.skydivechicago.com .. Awesome place. Owned by Rook and Missy Nelson(brother and sister - father owned the place, died last year). Both sh!t hot skydivers, and the nicest people in the world. There may be DZ's a little closer to you than SDC, but not better. I plan on spending a week or so there in early Aug for their SummerFest boogie.

 

[FracCapt]

Disregard the (almost) duplicate posts. It told me there was an error when I hit send reply, and I had to type it over.

 

[FracCapt]

when is a good time to buy my own stuff. Dont really know what is appropriate when it comes to equipment

Talk to your instructors. They will know best based on your canopy skills. I normally recommend buying gear when you have 20-50 jumps. That depends on the person...how well they fly their canopy, the size of canopy they are currently jumping, the DZ's they plan on jumping at, etc...

Container, really dont care. What would be a good one.

Containers seem to be regionalized. What is popular in my area(which means that local riggers know it well) may be rare in your area. Infinity(made by Velocity Sports Equipment) are popular out there - they are manufactured out that way(SoCal I think, near LA). You can't go wrong with systems like Sunpath Javelin or Odysey, Mirage, Vector, or Wings. I jump Mirage and Wings(I have one of each) containers. Again, ask around locally. Make sure to get something that is "freefly friendly". If you don't know what that means, as local skydivers why it is important(they can SHOW you, I can only explain it).

Main, well im thinking anywhere between 190 - 210
with a reserve of about the same size
definatly a cypress

There are so many different types of mains out there that it's overwhelming for newbies. I, personally, am partial to PD(Performance Designs) and Precision Aerodymanics mains, but I am jumping the high performance crossbraced ellipticals - which is a totally different market than the entry level canopies. Again, ask your instructors and some of the local gear dealers what they recommend. If you have any questions on specific canopies, ask away. As for the size....well, depends on your exit weight and canopy skills. If your exit weight is 185, a 190 or so should be fine for a first canopy. You shouldn't really exceed 1:1 wing loading(exit weight:canopy size) on your first canopy, IMO. I would recommend a semi-elliptical or semi-tapered(two different descriptions, but they mean the same thing) 9 cell such as a Sabre2(PD) or Pilot(Aerodyne).

Any more questions, fire away.

 

[sonofaeagle]

1st jump on Sat! Yeeeehaaawww!

Holy geeze that was crazy. SkyDive Virginia took us up to 13,500 to prove that I'd make a great rock.

A big thankyou goes out to Chuck for making it such a postivie experience... and not dry humping me after hitting hard and landing on my face. Winds were pretty crazy. We barely made the airport. 50 knots at altitude, 15 gusting to 30 on the ground. We were dotted all over. After dodging an antenna to make a clearing we came down what seemed a little hard. I imagine it was a great landing considering the conditions. First thing he said after pulling the rip cord was "what do you think?" All I could say was, "I think I lost the ripcord". Turns out I did but he snatched it out of the air after I let go. Saved me 20 bucks. Next he said, "I don't think were gonna make the airport." I figured thats what they say to all the noobs. I tried to catch my breath and take it all in. He was concentrating on flying so no small talk.

It was great turning around and seeing the guy video taping me landing in some brush, followed by someone elses camera guy...then off in the distance about two miles away I see someone dissapearing below the treeline. First thought was either that was my brother or my buddy landing in a baseball field. They ended up having to hit their 3rd option for a landing spot. They got blown away from the 1st two. Had to dodge power lines and land in a horse pasture.
Pretty darn exciting. Unfortunatly my camera guy forgot to push record! (fuc******). He was cool though, so I forgave him.

Sorry if these are random thoughts with little structure. Gets my heart going again just thinking about it.