aeio540

1. Obsession with celebrities. 2. Dating losers. We have a friend that was obsessed with relationships that lead no where. When she had the choices to date someone that would treat her and her kids well, she'd pass on that. If you just stepped out of jail for domestic assault, she'd be all over you. I am still puzzled by her choices. I felt awful about her kids.

I finally got to jump mine. It is my first full face helmet and I like it so far. I have a weird shaped head so it is a bit tight but it's real comfortable once I get it on my melon. LOL. I tried a few other brands people had and I liked the fit of the Revolve from a few of the other cats, so I figured the Rev2 would be even better. No complaints. I will probably buy a Rev3 if/when that comes out. On a sidenote, I got mine with the audible cutout because, well, I plan on getting an audible. Anyone know of a good brand/model that will fit? I don't know if they have a suggested brand or model.

Welcome to the club of "took to long". Life happens. I think I need maybe 3 more jumps to be done. As long as you stick with it I think is all that matters. I once met a guy that bought a Cessna 182. He had a bunch of hours but still hadn't gotten his flying license. I had the same instructor he did. He was in no rush. Just enjoyed flying and owning his own plane. I guess it's the journey and not the destination that's important lol.

I've wondered about that. I don't know what FBL system. I've never used them but I have talked to a few guys who stopped using certain brands because of unexplained failure and resetting during flight. One guy I talked to had a Flybarless system reset during hovering and trashed his Trex 550E. Maiden flight. A few guys bought gyros on eBay a while back and turned out they were near identical knock offs but the electronics and soldering jobs were not up to snuff and after a few flights failed. He seemed to be using name brand stuff so it may not have been that. If he had lost the signal I would think it would have gone into fail safe mode and rotors gone to neutral setting and kill the throttle. I have used knock off stuff that if there was any signal loss, blades would go to full pitch and throttle to 100%. I through those receivers away. I followed all the instructions and still had unexplained issues. Did he have dumb thumbs, linkage failure, or loss of signal, we may never know.

I've played Alto, Tenor, and Baritone Sax. Good times.

I think this is horrific but it's pretty rare. I mean its a risk I guess with any piece of RC but it's pretty safe. We jump out of airplanes. I fly them pretty regularly but I fly them away from people and property. I have 5 helis (4 pictured). Just with all things, you just need to be careful. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff150/aeio540/Helis.png

I'd throw my wallet at him, leave without my sandwich AND I'd still feel like a satisfied customer.

I was at the DZ watching them do this. Glad to see the commercial is out.

They'll set you up on a pretty big canopy that is decently slow and not twitchy or very difficult to control. They will also take you out and go over possible obstacles at the DZ and how to execute a proper landing pattern. As long as you pay attention during your first jump course, you'll be okay. You will also probably be allowed to jump only on a calm-ish day. On my first jump course we talked and retalked, and then talked s'more about entering the pattern, what to do, what not to do, emergency procedures and practice PLFs until I could do them in my sleep. (Literally, if you find me napping and startle me, I'll get up, PLF, and fall back asleep).

I second this. At the dropzone I'm training at we get the 18-21 OMG I'm s0 AwEsuM girls doing tandems and let me tell you something, when they advise you to wear something comfortable, I think "hey a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and some sneakers.". Not these girls. They wear the smallest, tightest, thinnest shorts and tops I HAVE EVER SEEN. And they're perky. Sometimes it makes it bearable when they bump you from a load to let the tandems go. So in conclusion, Tandems = $$$ for the DZ and great eye candy. Now I fell dirty...

25 hrs fixed wing, I made the mistake of skydiving before I started working towards my private again (a few years hiatus)

Did my first solo jumps last weekend. It goes through your mind but once you grab your gear you realize that you've done it a few times before and you know the rig like the back of your hand. A buddy at the dropzone told me I'd find my first solo jump to be boring. All I wanted to do on my first solo was be stable, altitude aware, and land on my feet. Wouldn't you know it he was right. In AFF you're doing turns, back loops, front loops, barrel rolls, leg extensions, delta, etc. No joke 20 seconds into it I think I may have actually yawned from just being stable. If the school is worth their salt, you'll be ready. There is always a bit of apprehension but that's normal for our level. Hope this helps. This is what struck me the most during my solo. Jumpers I had never met were awesome. They helped me out with my order, congratulated me and gave me some advice, gear and pin checks. I felt good on the way up. Call me campy and corny but it makes you feel a lot better when you feel like you are going on a load with friends rather than strangers.

*drool*

Very true. It's a 2 hour drive to my DZ with tolls and traffic (Even on the weekends). I enjoy the people there and have a great time whether I jump or not. BUT, chores need to be done, bills need to get paid, stuff around the house needs to be fixed. Sometimes free time just disappears.

How much time goes by between each jump, if you don't mind me asking? We had some horrible weather that slowed down my progress this year, or some other issues (head colds, travel, etc..) and I felt sort of uneasy when I would finally show up to a jump. My point is that your jumps may be too far apart for you to acclimate to the jumping process. Life does get in the way at times, I am getting ready to sign up for SDU and wouldn't you know it, I had to drop $1,000 fixing the wife's car AND my garage door needs fixed. Both car and garage door issues are unrelated despite the fact that they both need repair at the same time LOL. Unfortunately the wife isn't willing to eat Ramen noodles for a while to pay for my skydiving so it may take a bit of time.

Newbie to Newbie: That's normal at our stage. It's that fear that makes us check, recheck, triple check, and get one last final gear check before we jump. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous during the drive out to the DZ. All seems to go away once I go through my second preflight. It takes time. This is key. You recovered, you didn't go down a spinning mess and your instructor didn't have to pull for you. I find it easier to do a diving exit. I don't quite know why. Just seems so much easier for me to get stable. Magic perhaps? Finished AFF and did my first solo jumps this last weekend. Head first I went out of the otter. Nope. Everybody screws up here and there. Many of us repeat a level. My level was 5, my turns were like molasses. I know other people who tumbled out of control during 90 degree turns and had to retake it...over and over and over again. They didn't give up. Remember mate, this stuff is like learning to walk, except you're falling at 120mph. The only reason to not go through with it is if you are not getting any level of enjoyment throughout the jump or you honestly don't want to put any of the time and effort into it. There is nothing wrong with that, there are many a people who enjoy tandems. I know a couple that like jumping out of airplanes but that 6-8 hour first jump course though would be like putting them through torture. Take your time and have fun.

I'm an Mech. E., not PE...yet. I'm plenty of fun...sort of. Actually it depends. I remember some of the cats I graduated with were getting nice little cushy jobs at their dad's company/firm right after graduation but I wouldn't trust them to do simple math, let alone design or test a component. Other engineers are brilliant in the classroom but have no sense of real world applications. They can't seem to get out of the "ideal system" box. The biggest thing that has bothered me about some of the engineers that I have worked with is the total lack of respect some of them have towards workers that don't have degrees. That's where we clash. I don't care if you have a degree or not, if your job requires you to weld the hell out of something, you fulfill all of the contract requirements, and have got the experience, my hat goes off to you. An engineering degree doesn't magically make you a god among men.

As a newbie, this is what helps me break bad habits: Practice on the floor at home. I've only got 10 jumps in so take my advice with a very sizeable chunk of salt. That's how I worked on my arch, deployment, and back loops. Anytime I'm unsure about something I'll practice it on my floor/bed, couch. I'm guessing that if you start tucking in your leg, you'll feel it when you "deploy" on your floor. Also it'll help you with if your arms and legs are uneven. Again, Dislcaimer: 10 measly jumps, grain of salt.

Works like a charm for me. Also, I had to dig my elbows in a bit deeper to stop turns.

I...I...I don't know how to word that into advice to put in a book. Perhaps eHow or Expert Village have a video on how to deal with racist bears. Lemme go check...

1. I think there were a few STCs for a 182 with a 280hp-300hp TCM IO-550. I imagine one of those stripped out for skydiving would give pretty decent climb rates. 2. Soloy C206 as previously mentioned. Just my $0.02.

So what's wrong with that advice? What? Looking back, you're right. There isn't anything wrong with that advice. I guess what works in prison, works in nature.

Yeah, some of that stuff is extreme at best. It's like: If you're ever stranded in the wilderness, find the biggest, baddest bear you can, and kill it. The rest of the bears in the valley will respect you. I remember there was a show years ago, and it gave some pretty bad advice, in my opinion. I think it only lasted a few episodes.

I'm still in AFF but I'll be sure to try this out next week in front of my instructor on the ground. On the other hand I'm afraid that if I bring something up like this, they'll ask me to never come back.

I had to open my mouth. It was freezing cold and then wind and clouds came out of nowhere. By 10:30 I started feeling ill and decided to head home. Got home and the wife was also feeling sick so spent most of the weekend in bed. Eh, what can you do? We'll see what happens next weekend.