schmit.paul 0 #1 February 8, 2009 Hi Everybody! I'm a new member on this forum, though I've been scouring these message boards since I did my first tandem jump a few months ago. Just got my A-license last week, doing most of my AFP program at Skydive Cross Keys and everything else back in AZ at Eloy (grew up in Phoenix). While I'm extremely new to this sport and eager to soak up every bit of knowledge I can from all of the veterans who post here, I work professionally as a laboratory physicist while I'm trying to get my Piled-Higher-and-Deeper (ph.d) in grad school, so hopefully some of my somewhat esoteric knowledge will come in handy at some point! I think it's great that such a huge forum exists that connects this community together worldwide, and I respect the hell out of all you guys for being serious practitioners in such an amazing sport. I'll probably be asking some questions on the forum about purchasing a first rig and working on fine-tuning belly skills real soon! Blue Skies, Paul"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than knowledge." ---Charles Darwin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #2 February 8, 2009 Welcome to the forums! She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
schmit.paul 0 #3 February 8, 2009 Fantastic! Thank you "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than knowledge." ---Charles Darwin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyPainter 0 #4 February 9, 2009 Quote Fantastic! Thank you CONGRATS on the "A"! Now learning can really begin! I am also in New England, and grousing about the weather .... some of us are still jumping at CPI in CT. I got halfway through AFF before getting weathered-out! We are lucky to have a good wind tunnel here in Nashua, NH. You can still practice flying skills in the winter, at least! I plan to make some jumps at Eloy once I get my license, as I have friends in AZ ..... and the weather is warmer! LOL! Hang out here, jump in when you feel like it, and welcome! Maybe we can get on a load someday together! I jump (so far) at Orange and Pepperell. Come spring, I will be back painting the NE skies! Blue Skies, and Safe Landings Always - SkyPainterLive deliberately; Dare greatly; Land gently SkyPainter SOS 1304, POPS 10695, DS 118 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
schmit.paul 0 #5 February 9, 2009 Hmm, I wonder if your wind tunnel is the closest one to central Jersey...Eloy has a pretty awesome tunnel, but I only had a limited amount of time out there this winter break and I made sure to spend every possible second of it knocking out A-license jumps! I'd definitely like to hone some skills in the tunnel though, there's certainly a lot of buildup and preparation that goes into having less than 60 seconds of uninterrupted time to practice a certain set of moves, so it'd be nice to have several minutes at a time to work, correct, work, correct, and work again. Not sure how far you are from Cross Keys (just outside of Philly), but that's been where I've been trying to find myself on the tolerable winter-weather days Where are your friends in AZ? If you make it out to Eloy before you get your license, you'll have a blast doing skyvan coach jumps with their instructors...jumped several times with Sam, Jay, and Pat out there, and they're all pros and fun to work with. Blue Skies buddy - Paul "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than knowledge." ---Charles Darwin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sgoltry853 0 #6 February 9, 2009 Hah. Another physics person! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
schmit.paul 0 #7 February 9, 2009 Ha! Very cool "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than knowledge." ---Charles Darwin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sgoltry853 0 #8 February 9, 2009 I know what you mean. I started AFF while I was working at Los Alamos last summer, and found that it was a fantastic way to spend the weekend after five days straight at the lab. I'm at the College of Idaho... a small liberal arts school with absolutely no reputation in physics. I realize the risks of a year off turning into a lifetime off, but that's part of why I decided to do it. I want to take the time to make sure that grad school and a Ph.D. are really what I want. Heck, with the way the job market is right now, odds are that I'll be ready to go back to life as a student after a couple months of unemployment At least the funding that physics grad programs provide would give me something to live off of lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
schmit.paul 0 #9 February 9, 2009 It's very true, I'm actually on a DoD fellowship right now that covers all my tuition plus more than enough money to live on debt-free (ok, I'm not rushing to gold-plate my car, but I will be able to buy myself a new rig soon enough). So you're right, being a paid student while the economy sorts itself out is kinda nice! Good for you for doing summer research at a big lab, Los Alamos is def reputable, and that should go a long way as far as letters of rec go to help you get into a good school. But enjoy yourself right now after 4 years in the "trenches"...hell, if I were taking time off right now I'd probably get certified as a rigger and live on the DZ!"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than knowledge." ---Charles Darwin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
