Crater

Make sure I'm current Learn to pack (properly) Jump said pack job buy people beer repeat (maybe without the beer)

This is a second hand story but I heard about someone joining a university club. When asked if they'd ever jumped they were adamant that they'd done two tandem base-jumps After some thought everyone decided that they was confusing parachuting with paragliding. Honest mistake, but still... _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

I see. There were a couple of times during my AFF course where I went to the DZ and didn't have the energy to jump. When that happened I just hung around and chatted to people instead. Never thought of it as burnout but I know what you're getting at. _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

Probably a stupid question but how do you burn out by skydiving? I can understand that the stress will catch up if you're putting yourself under excess pressure to perform. Is that what you're referring to? edit: crappy spelling _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

It's probably worth remembering that not all people who are starting their training will necessarily know about this site so those that do (and went as far as posting) have obviously made some kind of effort to get here. Perhaps they've made more of a mental commitment than others. I'm one of those that 'just knew' this was for me. I've wanted to jump since I was quite young and I've always had a fascination with the air. I understand that skydiving is not like anything else but you can easily make analogies for each stage which make it easier to visualise. Once you can visualise it, I'm sure you can have a crude idea of how it will feel. It worked for me. My first jump was a tandem about 5 years ago and it went pretty much as I thought it would because I'd spent time trying to imagine it. The only part of the jump that I hadn't really thought of was the exit itself, that split second when you're outside the plane looking around. That moment really caught me by surprise. Perhaps it would have been wrong for me to say that I'd 'love' skydiving but I think some people can know this sport is for them before their first jump. However, there will always be those who say "I know I'm gonna love this!" without actually thinking about what that means. Just my tuppence worth. Amir

D'you mean Muttley as in 'Dastardly & Muttley'? or 'Stop The Pigeon' as I used to call it... _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

... or at least pretending to! HALLOOOOO I qualified for my A-Licence and am now poverty stricken and utterly addicted. How do you guys survive!? I did my AFF with SkydiveSpain in Seville and a brief summary is below. Level 1 Me (on jump run): You know I'm going to scream on exit, don't you? AFF1: Whatever you want, mate, as long as you jump! So I leapt out, arched, screamed like a baby, ran out of breath and then spent 60sec being blinded by the wind as my badly fitting goggles flapped about my forehead! Pulled on signal and came back from a long spot to a perfect stand-up landing! Level 2 No screaming this time. New goggles meant I could actually see what was going on, which is always a good thing! Left/Right turns (with instructors holding) all very nice but my shoulder locked at pull time and my instructor had to pull for me . Never mind. Level 3 Turns and short track then Instructors let me go. Let me tell you there is nothing else that compares to seeing your instructors floating around you for the first time ... oh, and I remembered to wave-off before pulling this time! Level 4 to 8 (inc repeat 6) Started off as a helicopter but looked more like a human as jumps went on! Level 7 was an awesome jump! I knew I was ready to jump solo after that one! The Hop 'n' Pop was great fun too! Consol jumps became a showcase of silly (and unstable) exits! I liked the 'floating-flail' where you're in a float position and then you shriek/kick/flap about just after you jump off. I suppose you could rename it to the "I just changed my mind, can I get back on the plane" exit. There's also the cannon-ball... a classic.

I did levels 5, 6, 6-repeat and 7 all in the same day. I was planning a a consol jump too but the light didn't hold out. I took breaks between each jump (and even had time for a nap). I was lucky because the weather was good and I could afford a break but I doubt I'd have been able to do much more in a day. I was always surprised how tired I was after an AFF level because it never seemed like that much work. I guess everything takes it's toll, from the nerves on the jump run to the concentration in freefall. I think leaving time for the muscle memory to "sink in" is usually a good idea but see how you feel after each jump before doing the next one. ... it's fun, ain't it! _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

YEEAAAAYY!!!! Yup, I think my initiation to the forum is complete! I'm glad you're back. I'm off to Spain TODAY and hopfully should back in two weeks. Whoo-Hoo!! Even my boss made me promise not to injure myself because it'll really screw up her plans if I do. I might get a friend to phone her on April 1st with some story about me being rushed to hospital... but that'll be another story _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

I missed seeing it around the forums. It's definitely something worth looking for _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

I'm not a muscle head but I was told that fat is not 'instant' energy. Your body needs to convert it to sugars so that your muscles can burn it. If you work hard then trying to convert fat just isn't fast enough to keep up with the demand your muscles are making. Instead they use up their stores of glycogen first and then whatever sugars happen to be floating around you at the time. After which you start to feel light-headed and weak (if you're not used to cardio). Working slower doesn't put as much strain on everything so some of the fat can get burned (along with some of the sugars) At least that's what I think... hope it helped _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

Yeah, I second that. That and Drowning. I went caving (only ONCE) and we had to crawl though pools of still water in pitch darkness with no idea how deep it was. Never again _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

LOL - the last one is fantastic!! Have you ever come across the equation that proves women are evil? In case you haven't, here's a quick lesson. We all know that women equal time and money. So... Women = Time x Money but we also know that Time is Money so the above becomes Women = Money^2 but isn't Money also the root of all evil? (can you see where this is headed...) _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

I'd advise against that... the risk of getting them caught between the keys is just too great. Not that I'm speaking from experience, of course I hope you heal quickly and come back soon.

sounds like I missed something here ... ... ouch, that really sucks ... I just did a search and found your thread about her wrist I hope she's healing well. ... on her first ski-trip too. If you speak to hear again you can tell her that even random people she's never met on the forums are wishing her a speedy recovery! I'm sure she'll be up in the air again soon. _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

Thanks for the messages! Excellent advice Feeblemind, I'll definitely be sure not to blink (and not die), especially since I don't want to miss anything! (including my instructor who'll be ... well, instructing me I hope). Where's the fun if you only do it once and flyangel2 ... you have over THREE THOUSAND JUMPS ... I am humbled. Now I now why some posters refer to 'sub-500s' as still learning... Provided everything goes well over the next two weeks, I'll probably be looking to buy an Altimeter pretty soon. I've got my eye on a Digitude for now (clear display and easy/accurate readings according to some reviews). If you have any comments/suggestions I'd be glad to hear them. I can't afford to buy a whole rig so I think I'll have to start with the smaller bits and bobs first. BTW I didn't want to make it sound that I only wanted to hear from skymama (sorry if I overdid it and it sounded that way!) I'm looking forward to travelling and the more people I know here, the more DZs I might visit. I plan to be in this for the long haul folks. Teach me stuff, I wanna learn

Haven't you seen The Matrix?!? Maybe you were actually waking up... _________________________________________ "That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

HALLOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Thought it was about time I said hello to everyone ... well, those who'll read this thread at least