DonTheGeek

Heck yes! Saturday can't get here fast enough.

I know exactly where you're coming from. I did my first tandem last spring and then started at that DZ's tandem progression program. Due to the cost it took me a while to really get moving with things. And then the DZ closed. I started over from scratch at RPC. The AFF program there was definitely more affordable but due to job related travel I wasn't jumping nearly as much as I would have liked. Then, I herniated a disc between L4 and L5. The pain wasn't too much of an issue but I was so stiff it took me forever to get stable out of the plane. I've decided to take a few more weeks off until I finish healing up. All of this when I'm just a few jumps away from my A license. Yeah, it's frustrating. For a student still new to skydiving taking even a couple of weeks off means spending the first couple of jumps relearning to relax and have fun so those breaks can be really tough from that standpoint. Beyond that, it's tough to integrate into the culture at the DZ when you're not there weekend after weekend. Now, for the positive view of things: Getting into the DZ culture does become a lot easier once you get off AFF and onto coached jumps. You'll start meeting and making friends with some of the more "senior" folks at the DZ as well as the other students that are about where you are (that comes in handy when the supply of coaches runs low ). My view on things is that I'm going to keep plugging away with it despite running into roadblocks along the way. This isn't something that's just a passing interest. I figure I have years and years in the sport so there's no sense in trying to rush into or force things.

Indeed ... come on down to Raeford. We'll be jumping all winter!

I just wanted to extend a big public "Thanks!" to SkyVenture Colorado and its staff (in particular Bill Sullivan). I'm out here in Denver visiting the family for Thanksgiving and figured that some tunnel time would be fun for everyone. I took my nephews (8 and 12) and they had an absolute blast even if it was kind of "Scary and there's a big hole below you" according to the 8 year old. As for me, well, this student knows his bellyflying still needs lots of work but the instruction today definitely helped a bunch. I got a bunch of excellent pointers to work on for my next few jumps.

Oohhhh I can only imagine the nicknames Peanut?

Great pics! Wow, you even got one of Roy smiling.

I went through the AFF course at Raeford including the tunnel time at ParacleteXP. I'll second what's been said: You'll probably be all over the place in the tunnel and if you're anything like me you'll be frustrated beyond belief at your lack of control -- I'm one of those type-A perfectionists that wants to be able to do everything perfectly. Heh. That being said, once I was actually jumping I was very comfortable getting stable once I was out of the plane. I think the tunnel really forces you to be much more precise with your body position. Plus, the tunnel is a lot of damn fun. The crew at RPC is also amazing so that helped a bunch, too. The AFF instructors and coaches are really focused on making skydivers out of their students. Even on the busiest of weekends with fun jumpers, tandems, and everyone else coming through they'll make sure you get all the instruction and jumps that you want. I'm really glad I found them! Now, if my back would just heal so I could get back to jumping ...