G'day

[richoH 6]

hey all,

I'm a new skydiver. I finished my D1 last weekend, planning to hopefully finish my AFF this weekend(!).

Most relevantly, if anyone lives in SF and wants to carpool to byron, I'm planning to drive out there every weekend I'm not travelling for the foreseeable future. Feel free to DM me if you're interested (including for tomorrow and sunday).

Blue skies!

richo

[skymama 37]

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

[richoH 6]

I did!

Yesterday morning I finished my AFF, and snuck in 3 solo jumps later that day.

Now I just have to get through another week so I can go again.

[Rossco_DJ 0]

richoH

Now I just have to get through another week so I can go again.

hahahahaa story of my life. Congratulations and welcome!

[skymama 37]

Good for you! Congrats!

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

[FlyLikeARaven 0]

Hey there! I'm in the SF area too...once I get my A license and my rig sorted I may head out to Byron to see what that's like and you can show me around. I finished AFF a couple of weeks ago but I'm taking my time with my A. Let me know when you want to head out to Skydance, it's a pretty cool DZ.

How do you like Byron so far? I considered it but the weather in Davis is a little more predictable.

I'm not a lady, I'm a skydiver.

[richoH 6]

So I caught up with a friend of mine who hasn't jumped in >1 year who told me that I should check out skydance.

I'm in the same boat- not even thinking about other dropzones till I get my A. Would be really keen to check out skydance after that.

I really like byron- I'm super biased, but everyone was really nice to me when I went out for my first tandem and was seriously freaking out. If anything, it's a little confronting that everyone is super experienced, it doesn't feel like there are many students out there, but given that I have no context for other DZ's I really like byron.

[FlyLikeARaven 0]

I was prepared to be intimidated by the super-experienced divers at SkyDance, too, but they were all super nice and helpful. It sounds like we're right about the same spot in our training, so we can trade off DZs when we both get our As. I'm hoping to have mine done by early December, depending on weather, but I'm okay with stretching it out a bit.

There are pros and cons to every DZ, I think, but I love the closeness at SkyDance. Regardless of your experience level, anyone will help you and give you tips, or comfort you if you're feeling freaked out. We have a lot of students--AFF is constantly happening--and not a ton of tandems, although they do show up on the weekends. I still love watching tandems, they just have SO much fun. The only confrontation we really get at SkyDance is the S&TA takes safety VERY seriously, so you won't be getting away with anything dangerous.

The drawbacks at SkyDance is that there's basically nothing for miles around--just farmland. This is great if you need an alternate field, but if you want to grab a beer or something you're going to have to drive. You should also bring your own food. And there are sometimes mosquitos. I'm really happy there. I'm excited to check out other DZs in the future, but for now, I'm comfortable learning at my home DZ.

That said, once we both get some experience behind us, let's get together and visit each other's DZs! I'll friend you and stay in touch.

I'm not a lady, I'm a skydiver.